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MEN AND TIMES 



OP 



THE REVOLUTION 



OE, 



weirs of (EiliEimlj gStatson, 



INCLUDING H13 



JOURNALS OF TRAVELS IN EUROPE AND AMERICA, 

FROM THE YEAR I'm TO 1842, 



AND 



HIS CORRESPONDENCE WITH PUBLIC MEN, AND REMINISCENCES 
AND INCIDENTS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 



EDITED BY HIS SON, 

WINSLOW C. Y7ATSON 



•Second HTjftfon, 



WITH A PC-It TRAIT OF THE AUTHOR, ENGRAVED ON STEEL, AFTER THE FAMOUS 
PORTRAIT BY COPLEY, AND TWENTY WOOD ENGRAVINGS. 



$Uto gjrrJi: 

DANA AND COMPANY, 381 BROADWAY. 

LONDON : 

SAMPSON LOW, SON AND COMPANY. 
1857. 



1 ; 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, 

By Dana and Company, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of 

New York. 




Stereotyped by 

BILLIN AND BROTHER, 20 NORTH WILLIAM ST. 



Printed by 

GEORGE RUSSELL AND CO., 61 BEEKMAN ST. 



PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 



My father, from the age of nineteen, nearly to the close of his 
life, which was prolonged to more than four-score years, was in the 
habit of recording his observations of men and incidents, as the 
events occurred to which they relate. 

This period embraced the era of the War of Independence, and 
of those amazing mutations which have marked the transformation 
of dependent colonies into a mighty nation ; and of a rude and 
sequestered wilderness into a territory teeming with beauty, culti- 
vation and affluence. 

In Europe and America, he was in the midst of the scenes of 
this pregnant era, an intimate associate with many of the individu- 
als who impelled or guided these changes, and a vigilant observer 
of the occurrences connected with their development. 

The journals of my father form a large body of manuscript, 
which, in connection with a multiplicity of public ti^s on many 
and various subjects, and a very extensive correspondence with 
some of the most eminent men of our annals, comprise many vol- 
umes. These materials constitute the elements of the work I 
now respectfully submit to the public. 

I have intended to compress it into as narrow a space as practi- 
cable ; although the mass of original documents in my possession is 
far from being exhausted by the contents of this publication. In 
my selections from the correspondence of my father, I have re- 
frained, with a few and special exceptions, from the introduction of 
any letters written by men who are still living. 

In 1821, my father revised and compiled a considerable portion 
of his earlier journal, and arranged the manuscripts in a consol- 
idated form. Several years preceding his death, I had advanced in 
the preparation of this work, nearly to the period of his return 



4 Preface to the First Edition. 

from Europe. This part of it received his careful revision. My 
labors were, at that point, arrested by feeble health ; but, at his 
decease, all his literary papers were confided to me, as his literary 
executor. 

In arranging the narrative of personal incidents, and the cor- 
respondence, for publication, I have felt constrained to withhold 
much of a private and confidential character, although it possesses 
peculiar intrinsic value and interest. I have been deeply solicitous 
to avoid not only all appearance, but to escape every suspicion of 
having violated, in any instance, the sanctity of friendship, or of 
having exposed to the public eye the frank and unguarded com- 
munications of confidential intercourse. 

A remarkable prescience will often be observed in the writings 
of my father, when results and effects will appear to have been an- 
ticipated with singular sagacity, from existing causes. Many other 
coincidences of a still more striking character, I have omitted, from 
an apprehension that the idea might be suggested, that the specula- 
tions had been recorded after the events occurred, which they pro- 
fess to foreshadow. 

The extraordinary and perilous journey of my father, at the 
crisis of the Revolution, from Massachusetts to Georgia ; his sub- 
sequent expedition from New England to North Carolina, soon 
after its termination ; his travels, at a later period, in newly oc- 
cupied territories ; and his explorations of districts, almost in their 
primeval condition, opened to him ample fields of observation and 
reflection. His journals reflect, during these events, his daily im- 
pressions, formed by occurrences as they took place. They con- 
tain a critical exhibition of the state of the country, the aspect of 
society, the modes of intercourse, the existing prospects, the popu- 
lation and condition of cities and villages, the industrial pursuits, 
the commerce and internal communications of the country, recorded 
at the time, and from personal inspection. I think, that no similar 
memorial of that period exists. 

Presuming that these features of his works would be regarded 
with interest by the American people, I have preserved them with 
considerable minuteness. 



Preface to the First Edition. 5 

I venture to hope, that the account he presents of the incidents 
of his travels ; his descriptions of the various districts of America 
he explored, and his illustrations of the appearance and state of the 
country, and the varied phases of its society, will be found of value, 
and instructive. They will, I trust, be esteemed an important ac- 
quisition to our sources of national history, as they afford data by 
which the vast progress of the Republic, in its prosperity and 
power, may be best realized and most adequately appreciated. 

These views will explain to the reader the object of my present- 
ing, with so much occasional particularity, notices of places, geo- \ 
graphical observations, descriptions of the means of travelling, — of 
the exposures and inconveniences to which he was subjected, and 
the absence of facilities and accommodations which he encountered 
in his extended American wanderings. The facts, thus exhibited, 
will portray more vividly to the mind, than any elaborate com- 
ments, the magic changes and the unparalleled advance, which, in 
three-fourths of a century, have signalized the career of our country. 

While sojourning in Europe, during the Revolution, for the term 
of about five years, my father travelled extensively in France, 
England, Flanders, and Holland. 

The patronage and friendship of Doctor Franklin a: Mr. 
Adams, introduced him to the refined circles of French society, 
and to an intercourse with the eminent statesmen and philosophers 
of England. He was the bearer of dispatches from Paris to Lon- 
don, connected with the preliminary negotiations which resulted in 
the treaty of peace ; and, among a very limited number of Ameri- 
cans, was present in the House of Peers, when the King of Great 
Britain acknowledged the independence of the American colonies. 
His journals embrace ample details of these events, and descrip- 
tions of the countries he visited, — their scenery, resources and con- 
ditions, and the manners and peculiarities of their people, with 
reminiscences of the distinguished persons with whom he associated. 

In my anxiety to secure brevity, I may have too much con- 
tracted this part of my materials. 

The portion of the work devoted to an account of the origin, 
history, and influence of the Berkshire Agricultural Society, and 



6 Preface to the First Edition. 

my father's labors in the cause of agriculture, may not be interest- | 
ing to the mere politician or student ; but, to that large and grow- j 
ing class of intelligent readers, who are connected with husbandry, 
either in its practical pursuits, or as promoters of its scientific prog- 
ress, the views and facts contained in that department will be, I 
think, of more than ordinary value. It will be enriched with the 
voluminous correspondence of John Adams, Chancellor Livingston, 
Colonel Humphreys, Richard Peters, and other eminent rural and 
political economists, on agriculture and its kindred topics. 

The influence of my father's New England education, will be dis- 
covered in incidental remarks on subjects of local peculiarities and 
domestic interest; revealed, however, without bitterness Or in- 
tolerance. The fervor of the whig sentiment of '76 is exhibited in 
severe strictures upon the character and policy of England ; the 
prejudices of his puritan birth are occasionally betrayed, — excited, 
however, by the abuses, as he regarded them, of some of its in- 
stitutions, rather than the tenets of the Roman Catholic Church. 

These I have deemed it expedient to preserve, as the expression 
of opinions and sentiments which were cherished at that remote 
period, without assuming either their defence or repudiation. 

It has not been my design to present a minute detail of the life 
of a private citizen, but merely to trace an outline of it, in order to 
form a tissue upon which I may interweave, with some symmetry 
and system, his journals, his observations and reflections ; the pro- 
jects he initiated ; the speculations he advanced ; his notices of men 
and incidents, and the public events with which he was connected, 
or had contemplated as a close and attentive observer. 

It is proper I should state, in conclusion, that I have not in- 
troduced into this work any portion of a correspondence of my 
father with many eminent persons, which I have in my possession ; 
and that, generally, I have selected only a part of the letters from 
the writers whose correspondence I have used. 

These materials form a large volume of documents, which I con- 
template publishing at some future period. 

W. C. Watson. 

Port Kent, Essex Co., N. Y., August, 1855. 



ADVERTISEMENT TO THE SECOND EDITION. 



In this edition the text has been revised. New matter has been 
added ; dates are placed at the heads of the pages ; the duodecimo 
is substituted for the octavo form ; a copious Index is furnished ; 
and the volume is embellished with a portrait of the author, and 
twenty illustrations. 

The portrait is engraved on steel, after the famous portrait by 
Copley, which has long been considered by amateurs as particu- 
larly valuable and interesting, on account not only of its great 
artistic merit, but of the historic circumstances of the period when 
it was painted. The illustrations have been designed and executed, 
under the superintendence of Benson J« Lossing, Esq. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER. I. 

PAGE 

The author's Birth and Education. School. Generals Scammel and 
Wadsworth. Premonitions of the Revolution. Military Companies. 
Lexington. Captain Balfour. Balfour's Officer. Carry Supplies to 
the Army. Military Tyro. Bill and the Captain. Seizure of John 
Brown. Schooner Gaspee. First Cruise against the British. Inocula- 
tion. Magic Egg. Retort upon the Tories. Parson Robbins and the 
Ministers. Service. Prospects of the Colonies 19-33 

CHAPTER II. 

Journey to South Carolina. Connecticut. Suffering Patriot. New 
Jersey. Captain Hoogland. German Population. La Fayette. Mora- 
vian Brethren. Rope Ferry. Reading. William Penn. Dunkers. 
Lancaster. Wilderness Region of Virginia. Night Travelling. An 
Accident. Fredericksburg. Williamsburg. Jamestown. James 
River. Arrested at Suffolk. Dismal Swamp. Edenton. Scenery. 
Pamlico Sound. Deer. Wild Turkey. Turpentine Making. River 
Neuse. Newbern. A Bivouac. Wilmington. Deer Hunting, Opos- 
sum. The Ocean. General Mcintosh. Capture of Burgoyne. Southern 
Hospitality. Naked Negroes. Winy aw Bay. Georgetown. Charles- 
ton 34-52 



CHAPTER III. 

Orange Orchard. Fire at Charleston. Governor Rutledge. Tour in 
Georgia. Warmth of Season. Gouging Match. Amusing Scene. In- 
dians. Little Carpenter. Port Royal Island. Cotton Picking, by 
hand. Beaufort. Dr. Zubly. Silk. Savannah. Rice. Cotton. 
Whitefield. Ogeechee River. Planter's Residence. Slaves. Face of 
the Country. Products. Health. Woods on Fire. Charleston. Com- 
merce. Females. Departure. Night Adventure. Negro Sale. Tar- 
1* 



10 Contents. 



PAGE 



borough. Halifax. Roanoke River. Horned Snake. Blazed Trees. 
Hanover Court-House. Election. Alexandria. Potomac. Inland 
Navigation. Slavery. Baltimore. Pennsylvania. Contrast. Penn- 
sylvania Farmer. Bethlehem. Moravian Ceremonies. Continental 
Troops. General Reflections 53-78 

CHAPTER IV. 

Rhode Island. Newport. Plymouth. Boston. Marblehead. Salem. 
Lexington. Climate. Painful Scene. Mrs. Reynell. Siege of New- 
port. John Hancock. James Otis. Count d'Estaing. General Sul- 
livan. Battle. Determine to go to France. Packet Mercury. Sail 
for Europe. St. -George's Bank. Porpoises. Whales. France. St. 
Martin. He de Rhe. La Rochelle. French Yehicle. Postillion. La 
Vendee. Nantes. Horse Patrol. Safety in Travelling. Ancenia. 
Angers. Beggars. Peasantry. Versailles. Lanterns. Paris. Dr. 
Franklin. Count de Vergennes. King and Queen. French Dinner 
and Manners. Paris. Gates. Police. Manufactures. The Louvre. 
Dr. Franklin's Influence. Notre Dame. Marly. St. Germain. St. 
Cloud. Elysian Fields. City of Orleans. Paved Road. Vineyards. 
Peasantry. Forest. Fuel in France. Canals. Burgundy. Langue- 
doc. Orleans. Blois. Illumination. Grand Causeway. Night Trav- 
elling. Roman Works. Tours. Angers 79-115 

CHAPTER V. 

Ancenis. Invasion of England. Importance of American Revolution. 
Country Wedding. French Peasantry. Musical Taste. Taking the 
Veil. Letter from John Adams. Count d'Artois. Royal Hunting. 
City of Rennes. General Moreau. Manners and Customs. Marshal 
de Biron. Fashionable Dinner- Party. Tom Paine. Roman Catholic 
Procession. Contest with a Priest. Louis Littlepage. Journey to 
Paris. A Cure's Hospitalities. Journey to La Trappe. Monks of La 
Trappe. Mrs. Wright. Her Celebrity. Mr. Wright and Washington. 
Mrs. Wright and a French Lady. Wax Likeness of Franklin. Mrs. 
Wright and Franklin's Head. Visits to Dr. Franklin in Wax. 116-143 

CHAPTER VI. 

Palace of Chantilly. Peronne. Lisle. Ostend. Canals. Canal to 
Bruges. Ghent. Louis XIV. Brussels. Silas Deane. His Char- 
acter. Cambray. Fenelon. Tomb of Rousseau. Dr. Franklin. His 



Contents. 11 

PAGE 

Character. Capture of Cornwallis. De Yergennes's Circular. Corres- 
pondence with Washington. Mercantile Prosperity. Opinion of Man- 
ners and Customs. Attacked with Influenza. Mr. Laurens. Colonel 
Laurens. Story of La Fleur. Paris. Envoys. Journey to England. 
Amiens. Boulogne. Calais. La Fleur. M. Dessein. Sterne. Cross 
the Channel. Escape of Reynolds. Dover. The Castle. London. St. 
Paul's. Lord Shelburne. Duke of Manchester. France, England, and 
America. English, French, and American Servants. Greenwich Hos- 
pital. Blackheath Robberies. Visit Dr. Price 144-172 

CHAPTER VII. 

Royal Family. Child, the Banker. Irish Giant. Wealthy Landlord. 
English Travelling. Maidenhead. Birmingham. Oxford. Wood- 
stock. Stratford. Shakspeare's Birthplace. His Grave and Monu- 
ment. Birmingham. Tory Relatives. Peter Oliver. Priestley. Watt. 
His Revenue. Birmingham. Canals. Rodney and De Grasse. Retort 
on Peter Oliver. Letters from John Adams. Dr. Moyes, the Blind 
Philosopher. Sister of Garrick. Litchfield. Road to Liverpool. 
Alarm. Impressment. Liverpool. James Brindley. Warrington. 
Country Frolic. Manchester. Worsiey Mills. Subterranean Naviga- 
tion. Rochdale Church. Tempest. Beautiful Scenery. Halifax. 
National Religion. Leeds. Clothiers' Hall. Political Sentiments. 
Sheffield. Matlock. Petrifactions. Derby. Major Andre. Miss 
Seward. Broomsgrove. Worcester. Tewkesbury. Bristol. Brandon 
Hill. Bath. Bathing. Death of Colonel Laurens. Devizes. Rotten 
Boroughs. Earl of Effingham. English Nobility. Dr. Franklin. Mr. 
Burke. The Prince of Wales. Destiny of England. The Opera. 
Portrait by Copley. House of Lords. The King's Speech. He de- 
clares the United States free and independent. House of Commons. 
Burke, Pitt, Fox, Sheridan, and Conway. Windsor Castle. The King 
and the Royal Family. Return to Paris. Treaty of Peace. Rumored 
Death of Dr. Franklin. Amusing personation of an " avant courier." 
Letter from M. Demmartin , . . . 173-210 



CHAPTER VIII. 

City of Nantes. Roman Tower. Royal Hunt. Commercial Distress. 
Margate. Bathing. Portsmouth. Portsea. Isle of Wight. New- 
port. Carisbrooke Castle. Salisbury. The Cathedral. Old Sarum. 
Rotten Borough. Plymouth. Mill Prison. English Election. Igno- 
rance of America. Highgate. Mr. Wildman. Reverse of Fortune. 



12 Contents. 



PAGE 



London and Paris, contrasted. Passage to Holland. Briel. Storks' 
Nests. Revolution. Duke of Alva. River Maese. Delftshaven. 
Rotterdam. Promenade. Dutch Carriages. Dutch and English 
Languages. Statue of Erasmus. American Flag. Dutch Chimes. 
Monument to Amiral Braakel. Dutch Trekschuit. Dutch Villas. 
Delft. William of Orange. The Hague. Dutch Churches. Mr. 
Adams. Schevingen. The North Sea. Count Bentinck. His Gar- 
dens. Mr. Adams and M. Dumas. La Maison du Bois. Ryswick. 
Prince of Orange. Rescue of a Child. Character of Mr. Adams. Mr. 
Adams, and the American Navy. The Hague, described. The Court 
of Holland. Leyden, described. M. Luzac. Leyden, described. 
Monument to Boerhaave. University of Leyden. Dutch Sensi- 
bility 211-244 

CHAPTER IX. 

Haarlem. Koster. Printing. Faust. Haarlem Organ. Siege of Haar- 
lem. Haarlem Lake. Harbor of Amsterdam. Amsterdam, described. 
TheStadhuis. Amsterdam Exchange. Speel-houses. The Rasp House. 
Pump Punishment. Sardem, described. Peter the Great. North 
Holland. Excessive Neatness. Broek, described. Thunder-storm. 
Dutch Jew. Utrecht, described. Political Excitement. Madame 
Yan Mollem's Garden. Canal Travelling. The Rhine. The Seven 
Provinces. The Scheldt. Antwerp. Dutch Roads. Holland, de- 
scribed. Inundations. Province of Zealand. Province of Friesland. 
Reflections on Holland. Dutch Government. American Confederacy. 
Canals of Holland 245-264 

CHAPTER X. 

England. Tea-drinking, Horse-cart Travelling. Jews, at the Stock- 
Exchange. Punishing a Pickpocket. Granville Sharp. Ignatius 
Sancho. Homeward Voyage. Sailors' Superstition. Egg-shells. 
Violent Storm. Return Home. American Farmer. Taxes in Amer- 
ica. Lecture on the Subject. Passage to New York. City of New 
York. Visit to Long Island. Dr. Moyes, the Blind Philosopher. 
Journey to Philadelphia. Philadelphia, described. Wilmington, 
Delaware. Elkton, Maryland. Baltimore. Alexandria. Visit Mount 
Vernon. General Washington. Washington in Private Life. Wash- 
ington waiting on his Sick Guest. Navigation of the Potomac. Canal 
Company. Importance of Canals. Annapolis, described. Stage-sleigh 
Travelling. Norfolk. Canoe Travelling. Coal-cart Travelling. Cold 



Contents. 13 



PAGE 



Reception by Mr. Granby. Military Costume. Sulky Travelling. 
Dismal Swamp. Murfreesborough. Mrs. Ashe and Tarleton. Halifax. 
Warren ton Election. Warrenton Hunting Scene. Judge Williams's 
Hospitality. Lunatic at Nutbush. Tar and Neuse Rivers. Hills- 
borough, described. Hawfield. The Scotch-Irish. Guilford Court- 
House. Battle-ground 265-291 

CHAPTER XI. 

Moravian Settlement. Quaker Settlement. Salem, described. The Yad- 
kin. Salisbury. Visit the Catawba Indians. Educated Indian. Con- 
dition of the Tribe. Hanging-rock. General' Sumter. Flat-rock. 
Camden. Battle-field. Gates and Green. Camden, described. Chatham. 
White Savage. Drinking Scene. Western Emigration. Yankee 
Trick. Yirginia Cock-fight. Federal Constitution. Baptist Preacher, 
a Politician. Scene in his Church. Preacher, caricatured. Return 
to the North. Materials for the Memoirs. The Author's Marriage. 
His first Sight of his future Bride. Springfield, described. City of 
Albany, described. John de Neuville. Schenectady, Colonel Talbot. 
Johnson Hall. Mohawk Valley. German Population. Revolution- 
ary Sufferings. Site of Utica. The Author's Privations. Whites- 
borough. Settlers. Mohawk Indians. Fort Stanwix. Indian Treaty. 
Wood Creek. Inland Navigation. Indian Territory, ceded. Inland 
Navigation. Peter Otsequett. Descent of the Mohawk. Site of 
Troy, New York. Lansingburg. Half Moon. Cohoes Falls. Hudson 
River. Albany. The Overslaugh. Romance in Real Life. Rich 
Usurer. His son John. His Cargo of Rum. John, among the In- 
dians. John, a Wood-sawer. John's Restoration to his Father. John's 
Wealth, Penury, and Death. Story of Mr. H, His Wife, a reformed 
Courtesan. His Boarding-house. He induces the Author to visit the 
Devil's Hole. He steals the Author's Money. He is arrested. The 
Money is returned. His Confession of Theft, and of intended Murder. 
He is a Homeless Vagabond. The Author's Certificate of the Freedom 
of the City of Albany. Improvements in Albany. The Author, as- 
sailed as the " Paving Yankee." Bank of Albany. Grave of Franklin. 
Tribute to Franklin. Estrangement of Adams and Franklin 292-330 

CHAPTER XII. 

The Author's "Tour in Holland." New Lebanon. Shakers. Shaker 
Village, described. Shaker Worship. Shaker Dancing. Character 
of the Shakers. Saratoga Springs. Want of Accommodations, in 



14 Contents. 



PAGE 



1790. Bathing at Saratoga. Ballston Springs, in 11 90. Western 
Tour. Inland Navigation. German, Dutch, and Yankee Settlers. 
Western Canals. Mohawk Valley. Bateau Travelling. Utica. Fort 
Stanwix. A Bivouac. Canal Improvement. Fort Stanwix, described. 
Bateau Travelling. Wood Creek, described. Oneida Lake. Fish 
Creek. Fertile Country. Oneida Lake and Reservation. Glowing 
Prospect. French Hermit. Dangers of Lake Navigation. Fort 
Brewerton. Onondaga River. Indian Fishing. Eel-wears. Onon- 
daga and Seneca Rivers. Fort Oswego. Onondaga Indians. King 
Kiadote, and his Queen. Indian Languages. Seneca River. Salt 
Lake. Salt Works. Canals. Salt Lake, described 331-34:* 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Indian Robbery, Indian Salt-makers. Indian Royal Family. Indian 
Habits, unalterable. Seneca River. Aromatic Grass. Salt Deposits. 
Salt Manufacture. Cayuga Lake. Pioneers. Savage and Civilized 
Life. Seneca Falls. Seneca Lake. Village of Geneva. Appletown. 
Indian Orchards. General Sullivan, and the Senecas. Navigate 
Cayuga Lake. Seneca and Cayuga Lakes, described. Lake Scenery. 
Want of Water. Inland Navigation. Water Communication from 
the Hudson to Lake Ontario. Attractions of the Country. Canals to 
precede Settlements. Policy of State Canals. Oneida Lake. Connec- 
tion of the Lakes and Susquehanna River. First Mail-Wagon to 
Albany 249-362 

CHAPTER XIV. 

General Schuyler. Inland Navigation. Schuyler's Letters on the Sub- 
ject. Robert Morris, on Inland Navigation. Tribute to Robert Morris. 
Canal Companies. Niagara Falls Canal. ColonelRobert Troup. Canal 
Controversy. DeWitt Clinton. Dr. David Hosack. Colonel Troup's 
Letter to Dr. Hosack. Letters from John Adams 363-380 



CHAPTER XV. 

Commissioners of the Land Office. Character of General Schuyler. 
Schuyler and Hamilton. Schuyler's Unpopularity. General Varnum. 
Greene and Varnum. Varnum and Goodwin. Varnum's Colony. 
His Letter to his Wife. His Death. Talleyrand. French Emigrants. 
Dupin, Talleyrand, Volney, Pharoux, Desjardins. War with France. 
Commodore Truxton. Social and Public Improvements. Chancellor 



Contents. 15 



PAGE 



Livingston. His Letter on Maple Sugar. His Letter respecting 
Louisiana. Merino Sheep. Sheep- shearing Festival. Livingston and 
Humphreys. Letter from General Humphreys. Livingston and 
Peters. Livingston and Fulton. Character of Livingston. Mr. 
Muller, of Pittsburg. Jews' Harp Music. Correspondence with Mr. 
Adams 381-401 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Tour to Vermont. Ballston Springs. Saratoga Springs. Culture of 
Sand Plains. Glenn's Falls. Lake George. Beautiful Scenery. 
Sabbath-day Point. Outlet of Lake George. Ticonderaga. Crown 
Point. Lake Champlain. Vermont Farms. Arnold's Fleet. Bur- 
lington. Sand-bar. South Hero. Indians. Birch Canoes. Hallock's 
Hill. Scenery. Plattsburg. Cumberland-head. Lord Amherst. Ar- 
nold and Carleton. Au Sable River. Adgate's Falls. High Bridge. 
Willsborough Mountain. Valley of Otter Creek. Middlebury. General 
Mxon. Rutland. Union College. Dr. Nott. Dr. Nott's Sermon on 
the Death of Hamilton. Hamilton and Burr. Mr. Watson and Dr. 
Nott. The Travelling Pistol. Party Politics. Letters from Dr. Nott. 
Political Contest of 1§07. Letters from Colonel Elisha Jenkins, 
Thomas Tillotson, and M. Genet 402-418 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Removal to Pittsfield. Berkshire County. State of Manufactures and 
Agriculture. Merino Sheep. Improved Stock. "Woollen Factories. 
Pigs and Cattle. Letter from Elbridge Gerry. Berkshire Agricul- 
tural Society. Agricultural Festival. History of the Society. Ex- 
hibition in 1812. Religious Exercises. Female Influence. Domestic 
Manufactures, promoted. Otsego Agricultural Society. Mr. Watson's 
Resignation of his Office. Influence of the Berkshire Agricultural 
Society. Progress of the Society. Its Origin and Operations. Its 
Fair, described by a Virginian. Premiums to Ladies. Letters from 
Chancellor Livingston and General Humphreys. The War of 1812. 
Letters from John Adams 419-439 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

General Hull. His Letters to Mr. Watson. Letter from Robert Fulton. 
Address before the Berkshire Society. Letter from J. W. Hurlbut. 
Political Party-spirit in Massachusetts. Antiquarian Speculations. 



16 Contents. 



PAGE 



Return to Albany. Testimonials of Respect. Tariff Policy. Destiny 
of New England. Address before the Berkshire Society. Influence 
of the Society. Otsego County Society. Governor Clinton. Report 
on Agriculture. Mr. Watson's Correspondence. County Agricultural 
Societies. Foreign Circular. Letters from Judge feters. Agricultural 
Society of Hartford County, Connecticut 440-466 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Agricultural Law. National Board of Agriculture. Correspondence 
with Jefferson and Madison. Letter from Dr. Mitchill. Pattern Farm. 
Agricultural Education. Agricultural Districts. Tour to Detroit. 
The Author's Journals. Canal Boat. Canal Bridge. Syracuse. Prog- 
ress of Improvement. Auburn. Cayuga Agricultural Society. Letter 
from Colonel Mynderse. Geneva Village. Canandaigua. Batavia. 
Holland Land Company. Causeway. Buffalo. Niagara Falls. Black 
Rock. Battle-ground at Chippewa. The Rapids at the Falls. Table 
Rock. Battle-ground, at Bridgewater. Generals Riall and Drum- 
mond. Lundy's Lane. General Riall. Voyage up Lake Erie. Dis- 
comforts. Bar of Erie. Erie, described. Perry's Fleet. The Captured 
Ships. Battle of Erie. Commodore Perry. The Ship Lawrence. The 
Ships Constitution and Java. General Hyslop. The Harbors. Old 
French Fort. General Wayne. Grand River. Cleaveland. Storm. 
Archipelago of the West. Detroit River. Detroit. Lake Erie. An- 
ticipated Progress. Detroit, described. River and Island. Wolves 
at Detroit. State of Agriculture. Degraded Indians. Hull's Sur- 
render. Condition and Prospects of Michigan .466-496 

CHAPTER XX. 

Correspondence with Mr. Adams. Letter from John Quincy Adams. 
Tour in Canada. St. John's. La Prairie. Montreal. La Chine Canal. 
Canadian Canals. American Tourists. Removal to Port Kent. Pro- 
motion of Public Improvements. Crooked Lake Canal. Letter from 
General McClure. Road from Port Kent to Hopkinton. Lake Cham- 
plain and the St. Lawrence. Convention at Montpelier. Au Sable 
Valley Road. Temperance Reform. The Author's Address at Keese- 
yille. American Drunkards. The Author's Experience. Public Opin- 
ion. Intemperance Asylums. Vendors of ardent Spirits. Asiatic 
Cholera. Last Address at Berkshire. Tributes of Respect. Progress 
of Population, in America. Governor Seward. Mr. Clay. Mr. Van 
Buren. Tribute to Henry Coleman. Mr. Watson's Last Illness. His 
Ruling Passion. His Death. Reflections. Monument Epitaph. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

ENGRAVING ON STEEL. 
Portrait of Mr. Watson, facing the title-page. 

WOOD-CUTS. 

PAGE 

I. Mr. Watson entering Plymouth 19 

II. Meeting on the Sea-Shore 34 

III. Introduction to French Society 53 

IV. Peril in a Burning Forest. 79 

V. Introduction to Franklin in Wax 116 

VI. Interview with Yorick, at Calais 144 

VII. Copley's Studio 173 

VIII. Bathing at Margate 211 

IX. Invention of Printing 245 

X. Washington and his Guest 265 

XI. Mr. Watson and the White Savage 292 

XII. Shaker Dance . , 331 

XIII. Indian Salt-Boilers , 349 

XIV. Poling up the Rapids 363 

XV. Chancellor Livingston's Sheep-Shearing 381 

XVI. Passage down Lake George 402 

XVIL Awarding Prizes „ 419 

XVIII. Examining a Phylactery 440 

XIX. Scene on a Canal Boat 466 

XX. Mr. Watson's Farewell Address 497 



4 




Mr. Wafco/i Entenng Plymouth. Page 29. 



CHAPTEE I. 



I WAS born on the 22d day of January, 1758, at Plymouth, 
Massachusetts, within rifle-shot of that consecrated rock, 
where, in New-England, the first European foot was pressed. 
Among the pious and devoted pilgrims of the 
May-Flower, Edward Winslow, third governor cestors^ 
of the infant colony, was an energetic and con- 
spicuous leader. From him I am descended in the sixth gen- 
eration on my mother's side. Born and nurtured among the 
descendants of the Puritans, I was early imbued with their 
sentiments of liberty. My father and nearly all my relatives 
were zealous Whigs, aiding with their hands and purses the 
glorious struggle for Independence. 

I remained at an ordinary common-school until the age of 



20 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1771- 

fourteen. This school was kept by Alexander Scammel 
. , and Peleg Wadsworth ; both, afterward, dis- 

Military Edu- tmguished officers of the army. In common 
with the other patriotic spirits of the age, they 
evidently saw the approach of the coming tempest. I remem- 
ber them as early as 1771, intently studying military tactics; 
and I have often seen them engaged in a garden adjoining my 
father's, drilling each other. They formed the boys into a 
military company ; and our school soon had the air of a min- 
iature arsenal, with our wooden guns and tin bayonets sus- 
pended round the walls. At twelve o'clock, the word was 
given, "To arms," and each boy seized his gun; then, led 
by either Scammel or Wadsworth, we were taught military 
, 1 evolutions, and marched over hills, through 

Generals Scam- 7 . 7 ° 

mei and Wads- swamps, often in the ram, m the performance 
of these embryo military duties. A sad and 
impressive commentary upon the effect of these early influ- 
ences, is afforded by the fact, that half this company perished 
in the conflict of the Eevolution. 

Scammel was tall in person, exceeding six feet, and was 
slender and active. He was kind and benevolent in his feel- 
ings, and deeply beloved by his pupils. He was eminently 
distinguished, during the Eevolution, for his conduct and 
bravery. In 1777, he was very conspicuous at the battle of 
Saratoga, leading his regiment of the New Hampshire troops, 
in a desperate charge upon Burgoyne's lines. At the siege 
of Yorktown, he -held the important station of Adjutant-gen- 
eral in Washington's army, and fell there in a reconnoissance 
of the British works. 

In the month of September, 1773, at the age of fifteen, I 
left my native place, and proceeded to Providence, Ehode 
Island, to engage in my apprenticeship with John Brown, 
the founder of Brown University, and then one of the most 
extensive and energetic merchants of America. 



1773.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 21 

Tn December of that year, the tea was destroyed at Boston, 
and our disputes with the mother country began to assume 
a serious aspect.* The public mind was gradually ripening 
for the fearful appeal to arms. During the Premonitions 
summer of this year, the youth of Providence of the Kevoiu- 
formed themselves into military associations. 
We often met to drill, were well equipped, and in uniform 

* A sister of my father's, Mrs. Priseilla Cotton, still survives, at the re- 
markable age of ninety-six. She has resided in Plymouth from her birth ; 
and when I saw her there, a few years ago, her mind was still clear and 
vigorous, and her memory fresh and retentive. Her reminiscences of the 
Revolution are singularly rich in local incidents and traditions. She was 
a school -girl, of thirteen years, in BostoD, when the destruction of the tea 
occurred ; and she has a perfect recollection of that exciting event. 

One current of the mob, on its course to the wharf, rushed down School- 
street, in which she resided. She described the shouting, the tumult, and 
the disguises, as appalling to her childish imagination ; and she thought, 
that all the fiends of the lower regions had broken loose. In her alarm, she 
fled for refuge to a closet. A servant attached to the family joined the 
throng, and filled his pockets with the detested tea, which was used to make 
their breakfast beverage the ensuing morning. She is probably the only 
person now living who drank of that tea. She repeated to me a popular 
song, which was then familiarly chanted in the streets of Boston, and which 
was impressed upon her mind by its constant recurrence. 

At my solicitation, she gave me a copy, written by herself in the bold and 
strong chirography of '76. Who was its author is a curious speculation. 
Its significant and fearless tone is worthy of the epoch. 

"As, near beauteous Boston lying, 
On a gently swelling flood, 
Without jack or pennant flying, 
Three ill-fated tea-ships rode; 

" Just as glorious Sol was setting, 
On the wharf a numerous crew, 
Sons of Freedom, fear forgetting, 
Suddenly appeared in view. 

" O'er their heads, in lofty mid-sky 
Three bright angels there were seen ; 
This was Hampden, that was Sydney, 
And fair Liberty between. 



22 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1775. 

dresses. I enrolled myself in the cadet company, commanded 
by Colonel Nightingale, consisting of seventy-five youths, the 

flower of Providence. The uniform of this 
panies7 C ° m ~ company was a scarlet coat, faced with yellow. 

These companies, five in number, were re- 
viewed by the distinguished General Lee, in the autumn of 
1774, and received from him the highest encomiums. In a 
letter to the Duke of- , October 29th, 1774, after speak- 
ing of the preparations in progress in the different colonies 
to resist oppression, he adds, "I was present at a review 
of some of their companies in Providence, Ehode Island. 
I really never saw any thing more perfect." 

The storm now thickened in our political horizon : some 
acts of hostility had already been committed near Salem. 
The whole country was agitated, as if passing over a threat- 
ening volcano. Liberty-companies in every community were 
organizing. The intelligence of the march upon Lexington 

reached Providence on the afternoon of the 

19th of April, 1775. Our five companies flew 
to arms. The whole population was convulsed with the 
most vehement excitement. We were unprovided with car- 
tridges ; and were compelled to defer our march until morn- 

" Quick as thought, without delay, 
Axes, hammers were displayed ; 
Spades and shovels in array ; 
What a glorions crash they made ! 

" Captains, you may hoist your streamers; 
Quickly plough it o'er the wave ; 
Tell your masters they were dreamers, 
When they thought to cheat the brave. 1 ' 

Since this note was prepared, my attention has been called to the inter- 
esting and valuable work of Frank Moore, Esq., on the ballads of the Revo- 
lution, which contains a copy of the foregoing song. The version preserved 
by Mr. Moore, embraces, however, several additional stanzas. In the metre 
and a part of the words of this ballad, the reader will recognize an imitation 
of Glover's lyric " Admiral Hoosier's Ghost. Editor. 



1775.] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 23 

ing. I spent most of that agitated night, with many of our 
company, in running bullets and preparing ammunition. 
We mustered early the next morning, and marched for the 
scene of action. The royal governor, Wanton, issued a 
proclamation, which was little regarded, interdicting our 
passing the colony line, under the penalty of open rebellion. 
Captain Greene, afterward the celebrated General Greene, 
with his company of Warwick Greens, and Captain Var- 
num, afterward a revolutionary general, with his company 
of Greenwich Volunteers, marched with us at the same 
time toward Lexington. 

We had advanced six miles, amid cries and tears of women, 
every road we passed enveloped in a cloud of dust from the 
march of armed men, hastening onward, when an express 
met us, with intelligence that the regulars had been driven 
back into Boston. 

These exhilarating, though tragic scenes, began to unsettle 
my mind, and incapacitate it for the dull drudgery of a store. 
Many of my acquaintances had determined to enter the army. 
Anxious to pursue the same course, I applied to my father 
and Mr. Brown, but in vain, to be released from my indent- 
ures. 

The year after my departure from my native place, an in- 
cident occurred at Plymouth, which, dictated by the popular 
sentiment, was eminently sympathetic with it. The people 
of Plymouth and the vicinity determined to remove the Fore- 
fathers 7 Eock, consecrated by so many hallowed n t „ , 

., . J .i , Plymouth Eock. 

recollections, to a conspicuous position, where 
it might be preserved as a memorial of the great event with 
which it was associated. The occasion formed a jubilee, which 
attracted an immense concourse. Vast screws were used to 
raise the rock from its resting-place. In removing it to the 
carriage, which was to convey it to its proposed location, it 
burst asunder, without any apparent cause, and entirely sep- 



24 Men and Times of the Revolution ; [1775. 

arated. The incident was seized upon by the fervid and 
excited enthusiasm of the public mind, as being a portent of 
political changes. A portion of the rock was returned to its 
original site, where it still remains. The other part, with 
impressive solemnities, was drawn to the public square, and 
deposited near the Liberty-pole. Over the vehicle which 
bore the precious relic, waved a flag, upon which was in- 
scribed the glorious motto, "Liberty or death." 

A few other incidents are worthy of commemoration, which 
occurred at Plymouth, but not under my personal observa- 
tion. These facts were communicated to me by my friends, 
and were of public notoriety. 

Immediately preceding the battle of Lexington, General 

Gage had stationed a company of British troops, known as 

the "Queen's Guards,' 7 and commanded by a Captain Balfour, 

. .„„ at Marshfield, a town adjacent to Plymouth. 

Captain Balfour. _ _ ' . . _ J . . . J . . . ? 

for the protection 01 lories m. that vicinity. 
Balfour formed the plan of occupying Plymouth with his 
company. The "Whigs, were indignant at the proposition; 
and the Tories were apprehensive of the consequences. Bal- 
four visited Plymouth,, in- reference to the purpose; and some 
of the prominent citizens were assembled at dinner in the 
house of Edward Winslow, the Tory collector of the port, to 
discuss the subject. A conversation took place, in which 
most of the persons present participated ; but Mr. John Wat- 
son, a relative of my father's, and a gentleman of position and 
influence, maintained a studious silence. This Balfour no- 
ticed ; and, after dinner, he requested an interview with him. 
lie said, that he had remarked the reserve of Mr. Watson ; 
and he requested his views on the subject. The latter earn- 
estly advised him not to make the attempt, under the exist- 
ing excitement of the people. "But, do you think," said Bal- 
four, "that they would fight?" "Yes, like devils," was the 
reply of Watson, 



1775.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 25 

The scheme was abandoned ; but, had it been attempted, 
in the existing state of the popular feeling, a collision could 
scarcely have been avoided ; so that, by a happy coincidence, 
the first battle of the Bevolution miglit have been fought at 
Plymouth Bock, instead of Lexington. 

A short time after this occurrence, one of the officers of 
Balfour, swaggering in the streets of Plymouth, was accused 
of menacing a citizen, with his sword. Whether 

,-,. °. -, . A . -_ ,., Balfour's Officer. 

this accusation was true or false, it instantly 
aroused the indignation of the people, who were keenly sen- 
sitive to the presence of the military, and were utterly hostile 
to them. A large concourse speedily collected ; the officer was 
pursued into the shop of a Tory, where he had taken refuge , 
and he was compelled to surrender his sword, which was 
cut into pieces, and distributed among the people. 

Such was the daring and determined feeling of the descend- 
ants of the Pilgrims. In no district did the spirit of patri- 
otic opposition to British aggression glow with more fervor, 
than in the atmosphere of Plymouth. When intelligence of 
the battle of Lexington reached that place, the military com- 
panies organized there and in the adjacent country, aug- 
mented by the entire crews of a large fleet of fishing-craft, 
which then lay in the harbor, who at once and enthusiasti- 
cally volunteered, marched upon Marshfield to attack the 
corps of Balfour. But Grage, the day succeeding the rout at 
Lexington, had withdrawn the troops, by water, to Boston. 

On the 3d of July, 1775, General Washington assumed the 
command of the forces then besieging Boston. He found an 
army, animated with zeal and patriotism, but nearly destitute 
of every munition of war, and of powder in particular. Mr. 
Brown, anticipating the war, had instructed the captains of 
his vessels, to freight, on their return voyages, with that ar- 
ticle. At this crisis, when the army before Boston had not 
four rounds to a man, most fortunately one of Mr. Brown's 



26 Men and Times of the Revolution; [177s. 

ships brought in a ton and a half of powder. It was im- 
r . mediately forwarded, under my charge, to 

Supplies to the head-quarters at Cambridge. I took with me 
imy * six or eight recruits to guard it. 

I delivered my letter to General Washington in person, 
and was deeply impressed with an emotion I cannot describe, 
in contemplating that great man, his august person, his ma- 
jestic mien, his dignified and commanding deportment, the 
more conspicuous perhaps at that moment, from the fact that 
he was in the act of admonishing a militia colonel, with some 
animation. He directed a young officer to accompany me 
and superintend the delivery of the powder at Mystic, two 
miles distant. "Whilst delivering it at the pow- 
11 ary yro. der-house, I observed to the officer, "Sir, I am 
happy to see so many barrels of powder here." He whis- 
pered a secret in my ear, with an indiscretion that marked 
the novice in military affairs, " These barrels are filled with 
sand." "And wherefore?" I inquired. "To deceive the 
enemy," he replied, "should any spy by chance look in." 
Such was the wretched appointment of that army upon which 
rested the hopes of American liberty. 

While passing through the camp, I overheard a dialogue 

between a captain of the militia and one of his privates, which 

forcibly illustrated the character and condition of this army. 

"Bill," said the captain, "go and bring a pail 

Stain. and the of water for tne mess -" " I shan't," was the re- 
ply of Bill ; "it is your turn now. Captain, I got 
the last." Even the elements of subordination had then 
scarcely been introduced. Officers and men had rushed to 
the field, under the ardent impulses of a common patriotism ; 
and the selections of the former by the troops or their ap- 
pointments, which first occurred, were rather accidental and 
temporary, than controlled from any regard to superior posi- 
tion or acquirement. All to a great extent had occupied at 



1775.] Or, Memoirs of Mkanah Watson. 27 

home a social equality, the influence of which still remained. 
The distinctions of rank, and the restraints of military disci- 
pline and etiquette, were yet to be established. 

Soon after this occurrence, Mr. Brown, having contracted 
to supply the army of Washington with flour, sailed for Prov- 
idence with a cargo from Newport. The British not having 
seized any American vessels, he apprehended no danger, al- 
though Commodore Wallace, with two twenty-gun ships, lay 
in the harbor. His vessel was, however, seized, and himself 
sent a prisoner to Boston, in irons, charged 
with heading a party in 1772, disguised as In- |™ of John 
dians, which burnt his Majesty's schooner Gras- sooner Gas- 
pee, in Providence river. The charge was 
true, although the British government could never obtain 
any evidence of the fact. That bold and successful enter- 
prise was one of the prominent events which accelerated the 
impending revolution."* 

* The following narrative of that occurrence was written by Colonel 
Ephraim Bo wen, a prominent and highly respectable citizen of Providence, 
Rhode Island, who was a youthful actor in the scene, and a member of our 
cadet company. It is due to history, and the memory of the daring spirits 
who accomplished the deed, that a narrative of it, so authentic and reliable, 
should be perpetuated. 

"In the year 1772, the British government had stationed at Newport, 
Rhode Island, a sloop-of-war, with her tender, the schooner called the Gas- 
pee, of eight guns, commanded by William Duddingston, a lieutenant in the 
British navy, for the purpose of preventing the clandestine landing of arti- 
cles subject to the payment of duty. The captain of this schooner made it 
his practice, to stop and board all vessels entering or leaving the ports of 
Rhode Island, or leaving Newport for Providence. 

"On the 17th of June, 1772, Captain Thomas Lindsay left Newport, in his 
packet, for Providence, about noon, with the wind at north ; and, soon after, 
the Gaspee was under sail, in pursuit of Lindsay, and continued the chase 
as far as Namcut Point. Lindsay was standing easterly, with the tide on 
ebb, about two hours, when he hove about at the end of Namcut Point, and 
stood to the westward; and Duddingston, in close chase, changed his course 
and ran on the point near its end and grounded. Lindsay continued in his 



28 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1775. 

Mr. Brown had occupied a father's place to me. I felt 
grateful ; and, in common with the whole community, was 
indignant and exasperated at his seizure. A consultation was 
immediately held ; and it was decided to send an express to 

course up the river, and arrived at Providence about sunset, when he im- 
mediately informed Mr. John Brown, one of our first and most respectable 
merchants, of the situation of the Gaspee. Mr. Brown immediately resolved 
on her destruction ; and he forthwith directed one of his trusty shipmasters 
to collect eight of the largest long boats in the harbor, with five oars to 
each, to have the oar-locks well muffled to prevent noise, and to place them 
at Fenner's wharf, directly opposite to the dwelling of Mr. James Sabine. 

" Soon after sunset, a man passed along the main street, beating a drum^ 
and informing the inhabitants that the Gaspee was aground on Namcut 
Point, and inviting those persons who felt a disposition to go and destroy 
that troublesome vessel, to repair in the evening to Mr. James Sabine's house. 
About nine o'clock I took my father's gun, and my powder-horn and bul- 
lets, and went to Mr. Sabine's, and found it full of people ; where I loaded 
my gun, and all remained there till ten o'clock, some casting bullets in the 
kitchen, and others making arrangements for departure, when orders were 
given to cross the street to Fenner's wharf and embark, which soon took 
place, and a sea-captain acted as steersman of each boat, of whom I recol- 
lect Captain Abraham Whipple, Captain John B. Hopkins, (with whom I 
embarked,) and Captain Benjamin Dunn. A line from right to left was 
soon formed, with Captain Whipple on the right, and Captain Hopkins on 
the right of the left wing. The party thus proceeded, till within about sixty 
yards of the Gaspee, when a sentinel hailed, ' Who comes there ? ' No 
answer. He hailed again, and no answer. In about a minute, Duddingston 
mounted the starboard gunwale, in his shirt, and hailed, ' Who comes there V 
No answer. He hailed again, when Captain Whipple answered as follows : 
* I am the Sheriff of the county of Kent ; I have got a warrant to apprehend 
you ; . so surrender, d — n you ?' 

" I took my seat on the thwart, near the larboard row-lock, with my gun 
at my right side, and facing forward. As soon as Duddingston began to 
hail, Joseph Bucklin, who was standing on the main thwart by my right side, 
said to me, ' Ephe, reach me your gun, and I can kill that fellow.' I reach- 
ed it to him accordingly, when, during Captain Whipple's replying, Bucklin 
fired, and Duddingston fell; and Bucklin exclaimed, 'I have killed the ras- 
cal !' In less time than a minute after Captain Whipple's answer, the boats 
were alongside the Gaspee, and boarded without opposition. The men on 
deck retreated below, as Duddingston entered the cabin. 



1775.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 29 

Plymouth, in order to fit out two armed schooners, to inter- 
cept, if possible, the captured flour-vessel, in her circuitous 
passage round Cape Cod, and to release Mr. 
Brown. In the service of Mr. Brown, and a First Cruise 
native of Plymouth, I was entrusted with the British, 
important mission. "With my musket at my 
back, I mounted a fleet horse, and arrived at Plymouth by 
two o'clock in the morning, alarmed the town with the cry 
of fire, and roused up the Committee of Safety. At sunrise, 
I was awakened by the beat of the drum to muster volun- 
teers for the enterprise, and, without hesitation, fell into the 
ranks. By two o'clock the same afternoon, we embarked on 
board of two dilapidated fishing schooners, equipped with 
two old cannon each, with powder loose in barrels, and be- 
tween thirty and forty men to a vessel, black and white, all 
officers and all men. 

" As it was discovered that he was wounded, John Mawney, who had, for 
two or three years, been studying medicine and surgery, was ordered to go 
into the cabin and dress Duddingston's wound, and I was directed to assist 
him. On examination it was found, that the ball took effect directly below 
the navel. Duddingston called for Mr. Dickinson to produce bandages and 
other necessaries for the dressing of the wound ; and, when this was done, 
orders were given to the schooner's company, to collect their clothing and 
every thing belonging to them, and to put them into the boats, as all of 
them were to be sent on shore. All were soon collected and put on board 
of the boats, including one of our boats. 

"They departed and landed Duddingston at the old still-house wharf at 
Pantuxet, and put the chief into the house of Joseph Rhodes. Soon after, 
all the party were ordered to depart, leaving one boat for the leaders of 
the expedition, who soon set the vessel on fire, which consumed her to the 
water's edge. 

"The names of the most conspicuous actors are as follows, viz: — Mr. John 
Brown, Captain Abraham Whipple, John B. Hopkins, Benjamin Dunn, and 
five others whose names I have forgotten, and John Mawney, Benjamin 
Page, Joseph Bucklin, and Toupin Smith, my youthful companions, all of 
whom are dead — I believe every man of the party, excepting myself; and 
my age is eighty- six years, this twenty-ninth day of August, eighteen hun- 
dred and thirty-nine." 



SO Men and Times of the Revolution; [i775. 

Thus equipped, we plunged into the ocean, reckless of 
every consequence, determined to rescue Mr. Brown. We 
had no commission ; and, had we been captured, we should, 
in all probability, have been hung as pirates, with little form- 
ality. We cruised ten days, east of Cape Cod, without suc- 
cess, and being pursued by a twenty-gun ship, escaped into 
the harbor of Plymouth. Thus it fell to my singular destiny, 
to sail from the place of my nativity, at the age of seventeen, 
in probably tne first American vessel that opposed the Brit- 
ish flag. We embarked, on this occasion, within a few rods 
of the rock upon which, one hundred and fifty -five years be- 
fore, the Pilgrims landed, in the assertion of that liberty of 
which they implanted the earliest seeds, and which was now 
endangered in the hands of their descendants. 

Mr. Brown was carried into Boston ; and, soon after, was 
released through the interposition of his brother Moses 
Brown, a conspicuous and influential quaker, and truly a 
great man. 

In the month of December following, General Lee arrived 
at Providence, under orders to inspect the position at New- 
port Harbor, then in possession of the British. He solicited 
and received an escort of our company. We embarked on 
board of two vessels, and landed on the north end of the 
island. On the ensuing day, we marched and counter- 
marched through the streets of Newport, without annoyance, 
although the British fleet was moored in the harbor, in full 
view. Thus undefined and equivocal was our posture to- 
wards England, at that period. 

Soon after, I was inoculated for the small-pox, in com- 
pany with a hundred and one persons ; and was confined in 
a large barrack, in a secluded position. The 
weather was intensely cold ; and, although re- 
duced almost to starvation, by our severe regimen, we were 
not permitted to approach the only fire-place the barrack 



1776.] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 31 

contained. Our sufferings were severe, in passing through 
this then established process of inoculation. 

About the time we left the hospital, Major Thomas, of the 
army, arrived at Plymouth, from head-quarters. He had 
left Washington retreating through New-Jersey. I spent 
the evening with him, in company with many devoted 
Whigs. We looked upon the contest as near its close, and 
considered ourselves a vanquished people. The young men 
present determined to emigrate, and seek some spot where 
liberty dwelt, and where the arm of British tyranny could 
not reach us. Major Thomas animated our desponding 
spirits with the assurance, that Washington was Hot dis- 
mayed, but evinced the same serenity and confidence as ever. 
Upon him rested all our hopes. 

On the ensuing Sunday morning, as the people were on 
their way to church, I witnessed a sudden great commotion 
in the street, and a general rush to the back door of Mrs. 

H 7 s dwelling. Supposing the house to be on fire, I 

darted into the crowd ; and, on entering the house, I heard 
the good woman's voice above the rest, exclaiming, with an 
egg in her hand, — " There, there, see for yourselves." I 
seized the magic egg, and to my utter astonish- 
ment read upon it, in legible characters formed 
by the shell itselfj " Oh, America, America, Howe shall be thy 
conqueror P r The agitation and despondency produced, will 
hardly be appreciated by those unacquainted with the deep 
excitability of the public mind at that period. We were 
soon relieved from our gloom and apprehension, on ascertain- 
taining from an ingenious painter, who happily came in, that 
the supernatural intimation was the effect of a simple chemi- 
cal process. We were convinced it was a device of some 
Tory, to operate on the public feeling. In the afternoon, an 
express arrived from Boston ; a hand-bill was sent into the 
pulpit, and, at the close of the service, our venerable Whig 



32 Men and Times of the Revolution; \?rf1- 

Parson Eobbins read, from his desk, the heart-thrilling news 
Eetort upon the of the capture of the Hessians at Trenton : a 
Tories * k a PPy retort upon the Tories. 

Parson Eobbins, (by that title the Protestant ministers in 
New England were uniformly designated^) in the ardor of 

his patriotism and devotion to the cause of 
SiT^he^hiS- fr ee( iom ? was a type of his class, A very large 
ters. proportion of our clergy, fearlessly proclaimed 

from the pulpit the principles of liberty. They 
wrestled in prayer for their country ; and I reverently be- 
lieve, that they prevailed with Him who holds the destiny of 
nations in his hand. Seldom, in the history of man, has the 
interposition of Providence been more distinctly revealed, 
than in the events of our Eevolution, when the victory was 
withheld from the great and powerful, and given to the hum- 
ble and feeble. Some of our ministers, like Parson Allen, 
of Pittsfield, whom I intimately knew in the closing years of 
his life, led their parishioners to the battle-field, and were 
found in the fiercest of the fight. Others, like Doctor 
Witherspoon of New-Jersey, communicated wise counsels 
to our Legislative Halls; while a few, such as Zubly of 
Georgia, and Duche of Pennsylvania, having put their hands 
to the plow, looked back. 

In the following February, a British army then being in 
occupation of Ehode Island, our company was detached on 

duty to Pawtucket. Standing sentinel in the 

Military Service. • , r, . , ,-, i,i o 

seventy of wmter weather, and tne performance 
of other actual military duties, w T ere severe trials to patriotism. 
In the early part of 1777, great preparations were made in 
the Northern States, to close the struggle with Great Britain, 
by an energetic and united effort, in the campaign of that 
year. I was deeply anxious to unite with many of my as- 
sociates, who were again embarking in the cause of liberty ; 
and I renewed, in the most earnest spirit, my solicitations to 



1 777-] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 33 

join the army ; but my father interdicted the measure, and 
my indentures held me enchained. 

The commerce of Providence was at this time prostrated, — 
all business in a measure paralyzed. I was languishing, 
comparatively, without employment for my hands, or occu- 
pation for my mind, when, in the latter part of August, I 
was aroused from my lethargy by an unexpected proposition 
from Mr. Brown and his brother Nicholas, for me to pro- 
ceed to South Carolina and Georgia, in trust of a large sum 
of money, about fifty thousand dollars, to be placed in the 
hands of their agents in the Southern States, and to be in- 
vested in cargoes for the European markets. 

The responsibility was a heavy one, and appalling to an in- 
experienced youth of nineteen. It was at the crisis of the 
Eevolution, Burgoyne bearing down with a 
veteran army upon Albany, Howe approaching cXmes. ° f the 
Philadelphia with a powerful armament, the 
royalists in every section of the Union convulsing the coun- 
try, and the negroes in some of the Southern States in partial 
insurrection. All these circumstances conspired to render 
the enterprise hazardous, and difficult to be achieved. 

My anxiety for change, and desire of seeing the world, 
preponderated ; and, notwithstanding these obstacles, I em- 
braced the proposition with avidity. During my trying and 
protracted journey, I was most assiduous in keeping a daily 
journal. It became quite voluminous, containing a great 
fund of matter of interest only to myself and my immediate 
friends ; but I feel assured, that it also embraced notices of 
incidents and of men, as well as statistical facts, which will 
tend to illustrate the manners and customs of the people at 
that period, and to shed some new light upon the events and 
characters of the Revolution. That portion of my journal, 
having, as I imagine, this interest to the general reader, I 
have very considerably condensed. 
2* 




Meeting on the Sea-Shore. Page 51. 



CHAPTBE II. 



On the 4th of September, 1777, I left Providence, on my 
way to South Carolina. With a good horse under me, a 

hanger at my side, and a pair of pistols in my 
South 6 Caroiina. hotter, I crossed the great bridge at Providence, 

and on the fourth day reached Fairfield, Con- 
necticut. From Providence to Windham, the country, though 
broken and hilly, was thickly inhabited by a hardy and 
independent race of farmers. 

On approaching the Connecticut Eiver, the land becomes 

more level, and the soil good and well tilled. 

I found Hartford a respectable and wealthy 
place, of about three hundred houses, with a State House, 
and other public edifices. New Haven is a delightful village, 



Connecticut. 



I777-] Memoirs of ETkanah Watson, 35 

containing about four hundred dwellings. Many of its in- 
habitants are wealthy. The place has owed much of its sup- 
port to its literary institution, Yale College, — its commerce 
having been very limited. Whilst at Fairfield, I was not a lit- 
tle agitated by a discharge of alarum guns in the dead of night. 
A marauding party of British and Tories had landed near 
the village, and the inhabitants were aroused to repel them. 

I travelled over the road to Danbury, which was pursued 
by the British the spring before, in their successful attempt 
upon the public stores collected at that place. General'' 
Wooster was here killed; and Arnold on this occasion 
evinced his usual fearless intrepidity. He had a horse shot 
under him ; and he killed with his pistol a soldier who at- 
tempted to transfix him with a bayonet, as he lay entangled 
beneath his dead horse. 

On approaching Danbury, I noticed a venerable old man 
looking intently at the ruins of a small house, which had re- 
cently been burnt. His appearance excited my 
sympathy; and I inquired the cause of his ° 

evident distress. He replied, that he was cast upon the 
world, at the age of seventy-eight, without home 6r property. 
" There," continued he, pointing to the ruins, " I resided with, 
my aged wife, for fifty years, in contentment and comfort; 
our little all was in that dwelling collected. When the Brit- 
ish approached, although warned to flee, we decided to re- 
main. A British officer promised us protection, and con- 
tinued with us for some time. When he left it, my own 
nephew entered the house, fired it, and dragged me away a 
prisoner." He added, that he was carried to Long Island, 
and had just returned. 

From Danbury I proceeded to Peekskill, through a coun- 
try infested by Tories and outlaws. The morning after my 
arrival here, Colonel Talbot came express, bearing the de- 
sponding news of the defeat of Washington at Brandy wine. 



36 Men and Times of the Revolution; \mii* 

I crossed the Hudson at King's Ferry, and proceeded to 
Morristown, in New Jersey. To this place 
General Washington retired, after his glorious 
exploits at Trenton and Princeton. The country is princi- 
pally settled by Dutch and Germans. 

I was amused and impressed (being only conversant with 
the customs of New England) with the manners and habits 
I witnessed among this people. Their table customs struck 
me forcibly. Instead of our elaborate grace before meat, the 
master of the house, bare-headed, holding his hat before his 
face, remained for some time in silence. The good woman, 
instead of the generous New England supply of sugar, placed 
a lump near the cup, to be bitten off as occasion required. 
The farm-houses, generally of stone, were neat and well built. 
At Morristown, I met Captain Hoogland, an intimate old 
friend, whom I knew at Newport in 1774. He 

Captein Hoog- -^ been taken pr i soner at fa G ^^ Q f Long 

Island, and was now . escorting some British 
officers prisoners to New England.* 

I associated myself, at Morristown, with two gentlemen 

* The history of poor Hoogland, his self-sacrificing, devoted patriotism, 
and ill-r equited services, had many a parallel in the lives of officers of the 
Revolution. It found them buoyant in hope, rich in the promises of youth, 
Pflf the vigor of manhood; it left many of those who survived, maimed in 
person, broken in constitution, and inadequately remunerated by their 
country. When I first knew Hoogland, in 1774, he was a handsome, face- 
tious, high-spirited youth of eighteen. We mingled together in the gaieties 
of the beautiful island, then in the rich enjoyment of plenty and repose. 
Too soon, it became the theatre of contending armies. Three years after, I 
again met him, a sun-burnt veteran, who had already seen much hard ser- 
vice. In 1788, fourteen years after, I again saw him, a merchant in 
Lansingburg, N. Y. He was then, although young in years, old in suffering, 
He appeared like an old man, hobbling on crutches. Thus he lingered a 
a few years longer, and sank into a premature grave, a martyr in the cause 
of liberty. Posterity can never estimate the sacrifices and sufferings of the 
patriots of the Revolution. 



i777«] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 37 

journeying toward South Carolina. On the 23d of Septem- 
ber, I resumed my journey, in company with my new com- 
panions ; and here relinquished my saddle, and pursued the 
residue of my long route in a sulky. At Princeton, we saw 
a large four-story college, which had been occupied by the 
British, on the assault by Washington. The battle-ground 
of the preceding winter was pointed out to us. At Trenton, 
we were shown the orchard in which the Hessians laid down 
their arms. If ever the fate of a nation hung upon the issue 
of an hour, it was on the 2d of January, 1777, when Wash- 
ington held the south, and the British army the north part 
of this village, separated only by a narrow creek. Trenton 
contains about seventy dwellings, situated principally on two 
narrow streets, running parallel. 

On reaching Burlington, on the Delaware, hoping to 
escape the British, we learned, to our inexpressible chagrin, 
that their light dragoons had, two hours before, taken pos- 
session of Philadelphia. This event compelled us to change 
our plans, and take a circuitous route, about one hundret 
and fifty miles farther, by way of Eeading, Lancaster, York, 
etc. We crossed the Delaware at Cowles's Ferry, and were 
arrested under suspicion (which resulted from my minute in- 
quiries) of being British spies. In the morning, we were re- 
leased. We passed over a wretched new country, occupied 
almost exclusively by the German's log hut, 
until we reached the Lehigh river. We forded t ^ man P°P Dlar 
this stream with extreme difficulty and danger, 
being in one place compelled to swim our horses. 

At Bethlehem, we remained two days, enjoying the com- 
forts of a spacious tavern. The Marquis de La Fayette,* and 

* He had just been brought on a litter from the battle-ground ; where he 
held a distinguished command, and acquitted himself with high applause. 
I saw him, a few years subsequent, on board of a frigate at Providence. 
He was then tall and slender, and of rather light complexion. After a lapse 



38 Men and Times of the Revolution ; \mii- 

other officers wounded at the Brandy wine battle, were quai- 
tered at the same house. This is an interest- 
ing place, fifty -four miles north-west of Phila- 
delphia, situated on a declivity facing the Lehigh. It con- 
tains about fifty stone houses, and was inhabited by a reli- 
gious sect of Germans, called Moravians. The 
Brethren. village was supplied with water, forced up the 

hill, in logs, by means of machinery. A con- 
spicuous object in this village, is a large stone edifice, occu- 
pying a romantic situation on the banks of the river, and 
appropriated to the education of young females of the sect. 
They are required to observe a strict seclusion, and are only 
permitted to leave its walls, in the exercise of some religious 
duties at the church, and on formal occasions. 

We crossed the Lehigh by means of a rope ferry, a con- 
trivance new to me, which combines much 
ope erry. ec0 nomy with a saving of labor and machinery. 
A strong rope is attached to a post on each side of the river ; 
along the rope a pulley or block runs, through which passes 

of forty-seven years, I again met him, the day after his landing at New 
York, August 3d, 1824. It was with the utmost difficulty I could realize 
him to be the same man whom I had seen, almost half a century before, at 
Bethlehem. I could scarcely discover the slightest resemblance. Age, and 
wounds, and care, had completely metamorphosed him, in person and fea- 
tures. 

The last time I met him, was in June, 1825, at Burlington, Vermont. He 
spent the evening with a crowded party, at the house of Governor Yan 
Ness, whence we conducted him at midnight to the steamboat. The wharf 
was thronged with men, women and children. Three steamboats were in 
waiting to join the escort, all brilliantly illuminated, with many a proud 
streamer waving in the breeze. He departed amid the pealing of cannon, 
the ringing of bells, the clangor of music, and the cheers of a thousand 
grateful hearts. The night was serene, the moon shone brightly ; every 
thing above and below seemed to give splendor and solemnity, and to com- 
municate interest to the thrilling scene. He, some months after, embarked 
for France, to engage in new scenes of glory, of disinterested patriotism, 
and of blood. 



I777-] Or , Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 39 

another rope. Each, end of the latter rope is secured to the 
head and stern of the boat. The bow of the boat being di- 
rected up stream, the current strikes her obliquely, produ- 
cing a strong eddy under her stern. She is thus propelled 
with considerable velocity, the moment she is unmoored. 
We found the country but partially settled. The prevailing 
population is German. I first noticed here the German girls 
at work in the fields, a custom most strange and repulsive to 
an inhabitant of New England. 

Eeading is situated near the Schuylkill river, in a well 
cultivated wheat-growing district. It contained 
about four hundred houses. It was settled by 
Penn, in 1700. His, and his successors' ground-rents 
amounted to five hundred pounds sterling, previous to the 
Ee volution. This system of quit-rents, retained by Penn, 
prevailed extensively in the State, and reached 

J T ; William Penn. 

to oppression m many cases. It was unceas- 
ingly assailed by Franklin, and with ultimate success.* 

At Eeamstown, I was placed between two beds, without 
sheets or pillows. This, as I was told, was a prevailing Ger- 
man custom ; but so far as my experience goes, it tends little 
to promote either the sleep or comfort of a stranger. 

Early on the morning of the 4th, we entered the village of 
Euphrates, within sound of the thunder of "Washington's ar- 
tillery at Germantown. This village is inhabited by a most 
eccentric and remarkable sect of fanatics. They call them- 
selves Dunkers. They own a large tract of 
land in this vicinity, and founded this village, 
about the year 1724, in a romantic and sequestered position, 

* The patriots of Pennsylvania, through the influence of the Revolution, 
were enabled, I believe, to expunge this relic of feudal assumption from their 
system. It would have been wise, if other States, overburdened by enor- 
mous manors, could have devised some equitable scheme, by which they 
might have extirpated this anti-republican fungus. [1821.] 



40 Men and Times of the Revolution; \mh- 

well adapted to their professed abstraction from the rest of 
the human family. They profess to believe themselves un- 
connected with a sinful world, and that they move among 
ethereal spirits. Their community numbered about one hun- 
dred souls. They dressed in long tunics reaching to the heels, 
girded with a sash, and with woollen caps falling over their 
shoulders. They baptize by immersion. They believe in a 
future state, and that salvation is attained only by penance and 
the mortification of the flesh. They never shave. The sexes 
have no intercourse, living in separate habitations, and even 
occupying different places of public worship. They sleep in 
apartments of only sufficient size to hold them, furnished with 
a wooden bench, a little inclining, on which they sleep. In 
place of pillows, they rest the head on wooden blocks, so 
prepared as to receive it up to the ears. They carry on quite 
important manufactures, and amuse themselves in rudely 
painting Scripture scenes, which are suspended in their 
chapel. They subsist exclusively on vegetables and roots, 
except at their occasional love-feasts. Eumor, with her thou- 
sand tongues, is, of course, not sparing of their reputation. 
As we were taking our departure, we heard the brethren 
chanting their melodious hymns, in plaintive notes that 
thrilled our souls. 

Lancaster was, at this period, the largest inland town in 
America, containing about one thousand houses, and six 
thousand inhabitants, with a State House and 
five edifices for public worship. Many of the 
houses were large, and built of brick. It is situated in one 
of the most lovely and luxuriant regions in the country, de- 
lightfully diversified with waving hills, and pleasant dales ; 
adorned with lovely scenery, and highly cultivated farms ; 
in a word, all that can invite to a pastoral life. Here were 
extensive manufactures, especially of the rifles so fatal in the 
hands of our patriotic yeomanry. 



I777-] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 41 

At York, the Congress was at that time assembled, after 
its dispersion from Philadelphia. Protected by Washington, 
whose forces interposed between them and the British army, 
they held daily secret sessions. Here we procured passports 
for our southern journey. We entered Maryland, on the 
5th of October, and passed through Hanover and Frederick- 
town into Virginia, over the Potomac at New- 
land's ferry. We found the country, through Wilderness 
a wilderness region, infested by a semi-barba- Virginia? 
rian population. We liberated an unfortunate 
traveller assailed by one of these wretches, who, in his tech- 
nical language, swore he would " try the strength of his eye- 
ball strings." 

Soon after entering Virginia, and at a highly respectable 
house, I was shocked, beyond the power of language to ex- 
press, at seeing, for the first time, young negroes, of both 
sexes, from twelve even to fifteen years old, not only run- 
ning about the house, but absolutely tending table, almost 
as naked as they came into the world. What made the 
scene more extraordinary still, to my unpractised eye, was 
the fact that several young women were at table, who ap- 
peared totally unmoved by this scandalous violation of de- 
cency. I find custom will reconcile us to almost every thing. 

Proceeding on our journey from Leesburg, night overtook 
us in the midst of a wild and secluded region. A wretched 
ordinary, filled with a throng of suspicious characters, afforded 
us the only refuge ; but, as the moon was just rising, we chose 
to press forward through the woods, rather than encounter 
its hospitalities. We travelled thus until a late hour in the 
night, amid stately forests of tall, venerable _ T . .._ ... 

° ' J . . , . ' -, m Night Travelling. 

pines, our three carriages m a line, and Tom, 
our servant, in advance. Suddenly, Tom came galloping back 
in a terrible fright. " What is the matter, Tom?" we cried. 
" massa, I see the devil just this minute flying in dem 



42 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1777. 

woods !" Mr. Scott being ahead, stopped, and exclaimed, 
An incident " ^^at can it be ! Don't you see it moving in 
the air, among those trees?" We distinctly 
saw the object of Tom's terror. "Well!" says Scott, "let 
it be the devil, or a damned Tory, or what, I'll find out 1" 
He dismounted, pistol in hand, and dashed into the wood, 
calling upon Tom to follow. They had not proceeded far, 
when Tom whirled about, and was in full career toward us, 
applying whip and spur at a merciless rate, his hat off, and 
his naked head in a line with the horse's mane. Mr. Scott 
pressed forward with due caution towards the terrific object, 
which still seemed to float in the air. We were all impatience 
and anxiety for the fate of our gallant companion. In a mo- 
ment more, he made the old forest ring with his powerful 
voice. " I have got the devil, or some dead Tory fast by the 
leg; a man in gibbets!" After this absurd scene, we ad- 
vanced five miles further through the woods to a small tavern, 
where we found rest and comfort. Here we learned, that the 
cause of our alarm was a negro hung in chains, for the mur- 
der of his master. 

As we approached Fredericksburg, we passed many elegant 
plantations, whose owners appeared to enjoy the splendor 

Fredericksburg. and affluence of nabobs. My New England 
feelings were constantly aroused and agitated, 
by the aspect of slavery in this land of freedom. About two 
miles from the town, on the north bank of the Eappahannock, 
we examined the extensive factory belonging to Colonel Hun- 
ter, for the manufacture of small arms, bar iron, steel, files, 
etc. Fredericksburg is situated on the Eappahannock, and 
contains about eight hundred inhabitants. The river is navi- 
gable to the falls, a mile above the town. These falls are 
eminently beautiful and romantic ; a series of several cascades 
following each other in rapid succession. From an eminence 
near this village, the Blue Eidge is distinctly visible. At this 



1 777-] Or j Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 43 

place, the mother of our Washington resides ; and she was 
pointed out to me. She is a majestic and venerable woman. 
On the 17th of October, we reached Williamsburg. Here 
I separated from my travelling companions. This city con- 
tains three hundred and twenty dwelling-houses, Williamsburg 
principally built of wood, on one street three- 
fourths of a mile in length. At one extremity is the old col- 
lege of William and Mary, and at the other the State House. 
It embraces the public offices of the State ; and in it the Le- 
gislature has been accustomed to hold its sessions. Here I 
saw a marble statue, at full length, of Lord Botetourt. A 
little retired from the street, stands the palace of the infamous 
Lord Dunmore, the last royal Governor of Virginia, who 
makes a conspicuous figure in her annals, especially in the 
years 1774 and 1775. I learned with pleasure, from an 
intelligent gentleman of Eichmond, that the first canal in 
America was then constructing from Waltham to Eichmond, 
a distance of seven miles. Its immediate object is to gain ac- 
cess to a coal mine, recently discovered on the estate of Mr. 
Divol. At Williamsburg, I associated my self with a Captain 
Harwood, who also was proceeding to Charleston. We passed 
the little village of Jamestown, on James river, 

t . , . . I Jamestown. 

interesting only from its early associations and 
venerable ruins. Here, in 1607, English adventurers first 
landed on the continent. Here Pocahontas, the noble daugh- 
ter of Powhattan, shielded the remnant of the colony from 
famine and treachery. James river is one of 

. . . James Kiver. 

the finest streams m America. It is two and 

a half miles wide at this place, and has thirty feet of water in 

its channel. 

From Cobham, until we approached Suffolk, the country 
is level, but covered with woods. Near Suffolk it is more 
cultivated. Suffolk is situated at the head of Nansemond 
river, a navigable, but winding, shallow stream. Here we 



44 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1777. 

found ourselves again in the hands of the civil authorities, on 
a complaint which had been lodged against us upon a sus- 
picion of our being spies. My exact and 
Suffolk. at curious inquiries had again excited jealousy 

of our character. We were compelled to go 
before a magistrate, two miles out of town, exhibit our pass- 
ports, take the oath of abjuration, and pay the fees of office. 

Proceeding from Suffolk to Bdenton, North Carolina, we 
passed over a spacious, level road, through a pine forest, 
which, beginning in this district, extends quite across North 
Carolina. We travelled near the north border 
of the great Dismal Swamp, which, at this time, 
was infested by concealed royalists, and runaway negroes, 
who could not be approached with safety. They often at- 
tacked travellers, and had recently murdered a Mr. Williams. 
We entered North Carolina late in the day, availing our- 
selves of the hospitality so characteristic of southern man- 
ners, and threw ourselves upon the kindness of Mr. Granby, 
a wealthy planter and merchant. From this gentleman I 
learned, that the Dismal Swamp extends about fifty miles 
north and south ; that it is generally covered with water ; 
and that it has, in its centre, a lake called Drummond Lake, 
well stored with fish. He informed me that, previous to the 
Eevolution, Washington and two other gentlemen had con- 
templated opening a canal, for the purpose of drawing off the 
water and reclaiming the land for cultivation.* 

Edenton is situated on Albemarle Sound. It is defended 

by two forts, and contained one hundred and 

thirty -five dwellings and a brick court-house. 

The town was nearly overrun by the busy sons of commerce, 

from its being protected against the access of an enemy, by 

the difficult navigation of a shallow water. At Bdenton, I 

* A canal has recently (1821) been constructed through the swamp, con- 
necting the Chesapeake with Albemarle Sound. 



1 777-] Or, Memoirs of EVcanah Watson. 45 

met the celebrated Dr. "Williamson, who was then residing 
there.* 

At this place we crossed the sound, twelve miles, and en- 
tered a romantic creek, up which we sailed some distance, 
before landing. We were delighted and soothed with the 
serenity of the close of the day, and the sere- 
nade of innumerable songsters of the forest, 
perched upon the bushes which overhung the boat as we 
ascended the creek, and formed in some places natural cano- 
pies over us. After landing, we travelled eleven miles to 
Colonel Blount's, where we arrived late at night, in Egyp- 
tian darkness. We were attacked in his yard by a pack of 
hounds ; but, through the exertions of the half-clad negroes, 



* This was the identical person who obtained possession of the celebrated 
letters of Governor Hutchinson to the British Ministry. Dr. Williamson, 
having heard that the letters were deposited in London, at a place different 
from that in which they ought regularly to have been filed, and having un- 
derstood that there was little exactness in the business of that office, repaired 
to it, and stated that he had come for the last letters received from Gover- 
nor Hutchinson and Mr. Oliver, mentioning, at the same time, the office in 
which they should have been placed. The letters were delivered to him, 
which he carried to Dr. Franklin, and he left the next day for Holland. 

These treacherous and malignant letters were the approximate cause of 
the Revolution. They instigated the British Government to adopt those 
harsh measures, which goaded a brave people to a resistance, which resulted 
in their independence. The publication of the letters in Boston, was a torch 
applied to the revolutionary train. They will consign the name of their 
author to the execration of posterity. Suspicion attached to Dr. Franklin, 
who was arraigned before the Privy Council, in January, 1775, and infa- 
mously abused by Wedderburne. Williamson guarded the secret with won- 
derful success. His achievement of the affair was not publicly disclosed, 
until Dr. Hosack, in his Memoirs, developed the interesting fact. The mat- 
ter involved Sir John Temple in a duel with Mr. Whately. The fear of a 
recurrence of similar affairs, induced Dr. Franklin publicly to avow his re- 
ception of the letters ; but he denied all agency in the procuring of them. 
The facts embraced in this note, I derived from my father, Mr. Walsh, and 
Dr. Hosack. — Editor 



4:6 Men and Times of the Revolution; [Mil- 

who came flying from their huts to our aid, and the assist- 
ance of our own whips, we escaped injury. 

From Colonel Blount's we proceeded to Bath, on Pamlico 

Sound. In the morning, our ears were suddenly assailed by 

the sound of the very pack of hounds which 

Pamlico Sound. , . -, -, -, p • /» n ^ \- 

attacked us before, m full cry after a panting 
deer. The deer, dogs, and huntsmen all darted across the 
road, just ahead of us. " The face of the country being level, 
with here and there a straight, " cloud-capped" pine, and 
with no underwood, we hallooed and saw the chase with 
great delight, far away into the woods. The deer was soon 
in their gripe ; and although the scene was at the moment 
most animating, I could not suppress a sigh at the fate of the 
inoffensive hunted animal. 

We arrived late in the day at Bath, after travelling over a 
most sterile and desolate sandy plain. The dreariness was 
scarcely relieved by the appearance of a house, except a few 
miserable tar-burners' huts. We crossed Pamlico Sound, in 
an open ferry-boat, a distance of five miles. After landing, 
we travelled the whole day amid a gloomy region of sands 
and pines. The road was spacious, and in a direct line. 
The majestic perpendicular pines, apparently towering to 
the clouds, imparted an imposing and solemn aspect to the 
scenery. Our only relief from this monotony, and the cheer- 
less and painful silence, was in noticing the watchful and 
timid deer grazing in the woods. The moment 
they perceived us approach, their long necks 
were arched, and their ears pricked up ready for a spring. 
Sometimes, however, they would gaze intently at us, with a 
wild and anxious eye, and remain stationary until we passed. 
We gave chase to a wild turkey, that main- 
tained his equal right to the road, like a true 
North Carolina Eepublican ; and, in spite of our efforts, he 
stretched away upon his long legs, far beyond our reach. 



1 777.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 47 

The few inhabitants scattered here and there in the forest, 

subsist by the chase, burning tar, and collecting turpentine. 

In the latter process, they strip the trees, to a 

certain height, of the bark, by which means the making*! 116 

turpentine is conducted into deep reservoirs 

cut in the trunk of the tree, whence it is collected. This is 

called blazing the trees. 

It was nearly dark when we reached the river Neuse. 
It rained, and the wind began to blow ; yet we ^^ N ^ e 
determined, contrary to the advice of the owner 
of the boat, to risk the passage of a stream two miles wide. 
Harwood, a high-spirited, daring fellow, persisted in urging 
the attempt ; but we soon had reason to deplore our indiscre- 
tion. Our boat was small, and conducted by two stupid ne- 
groes, one of whom was a female. The wind rose to a side 
gale ; and, as we advanced, the storm increased. Our horses 
became restive ; the night was intensely dark, and the sea 
began to break over the boat's side. At this crisis, (having 
been accustomed from my youth to water and boats,) I seized 
upon a broken oar to steer with, and implored Harwood to 
bail the water out with his hat, and steady the horses. Hap- 
pily I caught a glimpse of a light at the ferry-house, and by 
it was enabled to direct our course. But for this fortunate 
circumstance, we must have been bewildered on the river ; 
and must almost inevitably have perished, as the water had 
half filled the boat when we gained the shore, in despite of 
Harwood's efforts. Although my tongue was silent, my heart 
poured forth its thanks for preservation to that Eternal Father 
who had shielded us, and into whose hands I committed my- 
self on mounting my horse at Providence. We rewarded the 
poor negroes, again mounted our horses, and w bem 

proceeded to Newbern, the capital of North 
Carolina, groping our way in the dark, along unknown roads, 
and drenched by the heavy rains. 



48 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1777. 

On our arrival, excessively wearied, and needing repose 
and shelter, we wandered in pursuit of quarters, from street 
to street, and were turned from tavern to tavern, every house 
being filled with French adventurers. At one of these tav- 
erns, kept by one T , we were repulsed by the landlord, 

with so much rudeness, as to produce a severe quarrel in the 
piazza, where we stood soliciting quarters. Newbern was the 
metropolis of North Carolina, situated at the confluence of 
the Neuse and Trent rivers, and contained about one hundred 
and fifty dwellings. It was defended by a strong fort and 
an armed ship. Previous to the war, it exported corn, 
naval stores, beeswax, hams, and deer-skins, to a considerable 
amount. 

The next morning, Harwood proceeded to a barber's shop 
to be shaved. I soon after started in pursuit of the same 
barber. I had not gone far, before I met Harwood, his pace 
somewhat quickened, and with only one side of his face 
shaved. He informed me that the barber had been imper- 
tinent, and that he had knocked him down, and left him 
sprawling on the floor. We agreed, that, to avoid trouble, 
he should push on, and that I should follow. He was soon 
on his way through the streets of the capital of North Caro- 
lina, in the ludicrous predicament I have described. I left 
Newbern soon after, upon Harwood's track, and crossed the 
Trent by a rope ferry, seventy feet wide. 

I journeyed the entire day, alone, through a wilderness of 
pines, over a flat, sandy country, with scarcely an inhabitant 
to be seen. Toward the close of the day, I found myself 
entangled among swamps, amid an utter wilderness, and my 
horse almost exhausted during my efforts to overtake Har- 
wood. As night closed upon me, I was totally 
BivJfac. bewildered, and without a road to guide me. 

Knowing the impossibility of retracing my 
steps in the dark, through the mazes I had traversed, I felt the 



1777- ] Or j Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 49 

absolute necessity of passing the night in this solitary desert. 
Feeling no apprehension that my horse would wander far 
from me, I turned him to shift for himself. I then placed my 
box under the sulky ; and, with my pistols fresh primed on 
one side, and my hanger on the other, I drew around me my 
grego, and, prostrated on the ground along with these, my 
only companions, half asleep aad half awake, I passed the 
night in no trifling apprehension of falling a prey to wild 
beasts before morning. 

At length, to my inexpressible satisfaction, the eastern 
horizon began to kindle up, and gradually to brighten more 
and more into the full blaze of day. I found my faithful 
horse true to his allegiance, and within reach. I harnessed up, 
and pressed, with as much speed as possible, out of this dreary 
retreat of solitude and desolation. My movements were 
somewhat accelerated, by observing a large bear stepping 
slowly along at a little distance from me. After several 
miles travelling, I regained the road, and in the course of the 
forenoon overtook Harwood. 

We crossed JSTeuse river, and passed over a continuous pine 
barren to "Wilmington, on Cape Fear river. 
This was a compact town, 'ten miles from the 
sea, and is surrounded by sand-hills. It was defended by 
two forts, and two brigs of sixteen guns each.* It formerly 
exported large quantities of naval stores, pork, furs, etc., 
which it received, by the river, from the fertile country in the 
interior. The killing of deer, by torch-light, was a favorite 
amusement of the inhabitants of this region. p eer Huntiu 
A negro precedes the sportsmen, bearing a 
piece of burning pitch pine ; the foolish animal, fascinated by 
the light, remains stationary, with his head erect, and his 



* Two or three years, after, it was taken by the British, and occupied by 
Lord Cornwallis as a point of retreat. 
3 



50 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1777. 

eyes steadily fixed on the blaze. The glare of his eyes ex- 
poses him to the sportsman's aim, who approaches the deer 
as near as he pleases. Thus it often happens among men, 
that the unwary are allured by a deceptive glitter, are be- 
guiled by false promises, and fall victims to their own 
credulity. 

On leaving Wilmington, we crossed Cape Fear river, which 
is here two hundred yards wide, and navigable by vessels of 
twenty feet draught. At Brunswick, nearly all the houses 
had been deserted, from apprehension of the enemy. From 
this place to Lockwood's Folly, twenty-two miles, is an un- 
broken wilderness ; not a house, not even a wild tar-burner's 
hut, was presented to our view, the whole distance. Fortu- 
nately forewarned, we had prepared ourselves with supplies 
to encounter this desert. At night, we encamped at a wretched 
hovel, without floor or furniture. "We luckilv ran down a 
fat opossum in the woods, which, with sweet 

Opossum. x _ ' ., 

potatoes, made a fine repast. Hunger supplied 
the want of dainties. The opossum has much the taste of a 
fat pig. Our poor horses fared badly. They were compelled 
to stand tied to a tree, with nothing to eat, after the fatigue 
of a hard day's journey. We slept on a bare ox-hide, with 
no covering but our clothes. 

The next day, we crossed Little river, the country continu- 
ing to exhibit the same dreary and desolate aspect. The en- 
suing morning, we passed a dangerous wash, at the north en- 
trance of Long Bay. Suddenly the ocean and 

The Ocean. , , . ? / . m, 

several ships burst upon our view. The con- 
trast was a great relief to our minds and eyes, after travelling 
so many days over a waste of sand. 

We rode along this bay, for sixteen miles, on the edge of 
the surf, upon a hard, firm beach. The swell roared and 
curled upon the shore ; and, as we advanced, the variety of 
sea-birds starting on the wing, and a school of porpoises 



I777-] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 51 

rolling up their black backs on the surface of the sea, amused 
us as we passed along this beautiful scene. Sand hillocks ran 
parallel with the shore on our right, over which land-birds 
were continually hovering. We were alarmed and surprised, 
as we entered on the circuit of this bay, at observing, as we 
thought for the moment, several men, with horses and car- 
riages, at a distance, swimming in the sea. We were soon, 
however, relieved, by noticing an exhalation in that direc- 
tion, which had produced the mirage. About half way across 
the beach, we met a group of travellers, who 
proved to be General Mcintosh and suite, Mcintosh 
going to the north to join the army. 

We mutually stopped, to exchange civilities, and learn the 
news. Our minds had, for several days, been depressed, on 
reflecting upon the critical condition of our national affairs. 
Gracious God ! how were we astonished and transported with 
joy, on hearing from the General, that Bur- 
goyne and his whole army were prisoners of Bujloynef 
war. In confirmation of the intelligence, he 
presented us a handbill, printed at Charleston, containing the 
articles of capitulation. We involuntarily took off our hats, 
and gave three hearty cheers, in concert with the roaring of 
the surge. All considered this glorious event as deciding the 
question of our eventual Independence. In triumph, we 
carried the joyous news to the hospitable seat of William 
Alston, Esq., one of the most respectable and affluent plant- 
ers in South Carolina. We arrived at the close 
of day, but were received with open arms, and HwSSSty. 
entertained in the most sumptuous style. With 
music, and his best madeira, we celebrated the great event 
we had announced, in high glee, to a late hour of the night. 

We had been cautioned to be on our guard against the at- 
tacks of runaway negroes, in the passage of swamps near 
Winyaw Bay. As we entered the second swamp, four- 



52 Men and Times of the Revolution. [1777. 

teen naked negroes, armed with poles, presented themselves 
Naked Negroes ^ n ^e ^titude of hostility, across the road. 
Harwood seized one of my pistols, and charged 
them at full speed, making the wood resound with his thun- 
dering voice. I pressed forward close to his heels, in my 
sulky, armed with the other pistol. They threw down their 
poles and dashed into the woods ; and we passed on, without 
further interruption. 

As evening closed in, we embarked in a good ferry-boat, 
manned by four jolly, well-fed negroes, to cross Winy aw Bay, 
TTT . a distance of four miles. The evening was se- 

Wmyaw Bay. _ . ° 

rene, the stars shone brightly, and the poor 
fellows amused us, the whole way, by singing their plaintive 
African songs, in cadence with the oars. We reached George- 
town in the evening. It stands on Winyaw 

Georgetown. . „ _ ° J . 

river, and is the second place of importance m 
the State. After leaving Georgetown we passed the Black 
river; and, crossing a second ferry, travelled over Santee 
Island. 

At length, on the 18th of November, 1777, the city of 
Charleston presented itself to our view. We left our horses, 

Charleston an( ^ crosse( ^ Cooper's river, in a yawl. I was 

delighted with the view of this splendid city, 
and the shipping in its harbor. After a seventy days' jour- 
ney from Providence, having travelled a thousand two hun- 
dred and forty-three miles, it was to me almost like the en- 
trance of the Israelites into the promised land. I performed 
the whole route, either on horseback or in a sulky.* 

* At that day, and under the circumstances of the country, a wheel- 
carriage for one person was the most convenient and practicable way of 
travelling : a fact almost surpassing belief, in these days of stage-coach and 
railroad facilities. 




^0fifi*"* r 



Peril in a Burning Forest. Page 66. 



CHAPTBE III. 



On my arrival, I delivered the funds which had been con- 
fided to me, and which. I had carried the whole length of 
my journey, securely quilted in the lining of my coat, at 
their place of destination, and made the preliminary arrange- 
ment to carry out Mr. Brown's plans. I again crossed Coop- 
er's river, to the plantation of a Mr. Townsend, where we 
had left our horses. I here examined an orchard of eleven 
hundred orange trees in fall bearing. The 
fruit proved rather bitter to the taste, but was 
exceedingly beautiful. In December, one of 
Mr. Brown's brigs was burnt in sight of the town ; several 
of his ships had, however, arrived. 

In the intervals of business, I mingled, with delight, in 



Orange 
Orchard. 



54 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1778. 

the elegant and gay society of this refined metropolis, under 
the wing of Mr. Kussel, the consignee of Mr. Brown, a gentle- 
man of New England origin, but occupying a distinguished 
position in the mercantile community of Charleston. My 
prospects were brilliant and auspicious, when a deep public 
and private calamity cast a dark pall over the whole. I had 
passed the evening of the 15th of January, 78, with a bril- 
liant party, at the splendid mansion of a wealthy merchant 
of the city. Within two hours after we had left the scene of 
elegant refinement, the stately edifice, the rich furniture, and 
all its gorgeous appendages, were wrapt in 
Charleston. flames. In the mid hours of a cold and tem- 

pestuous night, I was aroused by the cry of 
fire, and by a loud knocking at the door, with the appalling 
intelligence, " The town's in flames." I pressed forward to 
the theatre of one of the most terrific conflagrations that ever, 
probably, visited Charleston. The devastation was frightful. 
The fire raged with unmitigated fury, for seventeen hours. 
Every vessel, shallop, and negro-boat was crowded with the 
distressed inhabitants. Many who, a few hours before, re- 
tired to their beds in affluence, were now reduced, by the 
all-devouring element, to indigence. 

After laboring at the fire for many hours, I returned to 
my quarters, to obtain a brief respite. I had scarcely seated 
myself, before a man rushed in, exclaiming, " Your roof is 
on fire!" The mass of the conflagration was yet afar off; 
but it, as it were, rained fire. "When we had extinguished 
the flame on the roof, I thought it time to remove my trunk, 
containing funds to a large amount. Not being able to pro- 
cure assistance, I was constrained to shoulder it myself. 
Staggering under my load, (a burden which, in ordinary 
times, I could scarcely have lifted,) I proceeded along Main- 
street. The fire had extended far and wide, and was bear- 
ing down, in awful majesty, a sea of flame. Almost the 



1 778. J Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 55 

whole of this spacious street exhibited, on one side, a con- 
tinuous and glaring blaze. My heart sickened, at beholding 
half- dressed matrons, delicate young ladies, and children, 
wandering about, unprotected and in despair. 

I soon found myself prostrated on the ground, alongside 
of my trunk, by the explosion of a large building. Fortu- 
nately being uninjured, I hastened on, until I reached an ele- 
gant house in the suburbs of the city. Without hesitation I 
entered it ; and, seeing no one, I went into a splendid parlor, 
deposited my trunk in a closet, locked the door, and put the 
key in my pocket. Early the next morning, I went in pur- 
suit of my trunk. I everywhere saw heart-rending specta- 
cles, amid the smoking ruins, and the constant falling of 
walls and chimneys. I reached the house where I had left 
my trunk ; and then first discovered that it was the residence 
of Governor Eutledge. A young gentleman 
answered my knock, of whom I requested my Eutiedge! 

trunk. He eyed me with attention ; and, cast- 
ing a suspicious glance at my person and clothes, replied, 
that, not knowing me, he could not deliver it. My face and 
hand had been injured, and my clothes torn in the confusion 
of the fire. I was mortified; but, conscious that my appear- 
ance justified his suspicion, I forthwith proceeded to a 
friend, borrowed a clean shirt and decent clothes, (my own 
being locked up in the Governor's parlor,) got shaved and 
powdered, and again proceeded after my trunk. 

I knocked with confidence, and was politely received by 
the same young gentleman, who evidently did not recall my 
features. I was ushered into the presence of the Governor. 
I stated to him where I had placed my trunk, and was apol- 
ogizing for the liberty, when he interrupted me, remarking, 
that the fearful crisis justified me. He continued, — " Sit 
down, Sir ; will you take a glass of wine ? My secretary 
informed me, that a person called for the trunk an hour or 



56 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1778. 

two ago, but, not liking his appearance, lie had declined de- 
livering it." The Governor was much amused, at under- 
standing that I was the person who had called. I record 
this incident, to show the importance of external appearance 
to a man's success in the world, and, more particularly, 
among strangers. 

Having arranged my affairs in Charleston, (for the occur- 
rence of the fire had totally broken up and prostrated my 
business operations,) I determined, in company with a Mr. 
Bloomfield, of Boston, and Mr. Clark, of New-Haven, to ex- 
tend my tour to the south as far as prudence 
Georgia, should warrant. In pursuance of this plan, 

we left Charleston, on the 29th of January, 
1778. I transcribe a synopsis of my journal. 

The road to Ashley river is delightful. We passed many 
elegant seats, with fine gardens and grounds. The road, in 
some places, is shaded with lofty trees, from which we were 
sweetly serenaded with the music of beautiful birds, offering 
up, we could believe, their evening praises to our common 
Benefactor. To a northern constitution, the heat 
Season!* 1 ° f * s TS ^ eT uncomfortable, exceeding that usual 
in the month of May, in New England. Many 
of the early vegetables had already appeared. In this month, 
garden seeds, with us, are ordinarily sown. A tranquil sum- 
mer sky, fanning breezes from the south, the verdure of ever- 
greens, the croaking of frogs and the chirping of birds, all 
indicated the advent of spring. 

On this river are situated the choicest plantations, and the 
most elegant and numerous country-seats in the State. The 
extensive marshes, bordering upon this and adjacent streams, 
had recently been converted into highly productive rice 
plantations, for which they are well adapted. In the even- 
ing of this day, we were much annoyed by the quarrel of 
two overseers in an adjoining room, who soon gave us a fair 



1778.] Or j Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 57 

(or rather foul) specimen of a genuine gouging-match. They 
rushed upon each other with the fury and 
ferocity of bull-dogs, and made every effort 
to gouge out each other's eyes. We at length succeeded in 
separating them. This house afforded us neither rest nor 
comfort. The sheets were smutty; the rooms filthy, and 
literally alive with fleas and bed-bugs. We turned in, with 
all our clothes on, and yet the ravenous fleas penetrated to 
the skin. 

In the morning, as we were about leaving the inn, an old 
French officer rode up and tied his horse to the post ; and, 
passing us with a profound bow, entered the house. He 
wore a three-cornered cocked hat, a laced coat, a long queue 
tied close to his head, with a ribbon in a large double bow, 
his hair powdered, and a long sword dangling at his side. 
He spoke only French. Immediately after him came up a 
negro riding on a mule, which, in despite of 
his rider's efforts, dashed in between the post m 
and the horse. In the struggle, the horse's bridle broke; 
and away went the horse into the woods, with a heavy port 
manteau dancing at his side. The Frenchman, no doubt, 
thinking it all design, (for he did not seem to comprehend a 
word of the negro's explanation,) drew his long sword, his 
eyes flashing fury. The moment the negro saw the sword, 
he sprang from his mule, and darted for the forest, with Mon- 
sieur in full chase after him, vociferating most vehemently. 
At first we were alarmed; but, perceiving the negro to be 
too nimble for him, we were exceedingly amused with the 
chase. Despairing of overtaking the lad, the Frenchman 
darted his sword after him, exclaiming, " Belitre ! diable ! 
etc. !" We soon after started, and saw the poor terrified black 
still scudding away, far off among the pines. 

The next day, we passed Pond Pond, and travelled over 
an interesting country, interspersed with fine plantations. 
3* 



58 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1778. 

The roads are as level as a bowling-green, and generally in 
a direct line. We noticed pease in blossom. Near the Ash- 
epoo, we observed several Indians seated on a 
Carp^Tter Little lo S- We ascertained that they were the cele- 
brated warrior Little Carpenter, king of the 
Oherokees, his queen, and several councillors, on their way 
to Charleston, to " brighten and strengthen," as he told us, in 
good English, "the chain of union." They were alternately 
whining out of a great wooden pipe, which was passed from 
one to another, whilst an elbow was rested on the knee, and 
the body a little inclined forward. I seated myself by the 
king, and took my whiff in turn ; and, finding him of a so- 
cial cast, I did not fail to ply him pretty closely with my 
Yankee questions. 

We passed Barnard Elliot's magnificent residence, and the 
houses of other plaoters, in the distance, on avenues cut 
through the woods, and surrounded by their little villages of 
negro huts. The 1st of February, we had a succession of 
showers, with heavy thunder ; similar to our northern April 
weather. The next day, we crossed over to Port Eoyal 
Island. At the ferry -honse, where we stopped 

island ° yal ^ or ^ e n ig n ^ a p ar ty of the young folks of the 

lower order had assembled; and, willing to 
contribute to their amusement, as well as my own, I took out 
my flute, and, playing some jigs. I set them dancing, shuf- 
fling, and capering in merry style. 

This island is about ten miles square. The land is gen- 
erally poor, affording but a few rice plantations. The staple 
is indigo, which grows on a light soil. Some cotton is culti- 
vated here for domestic purposes; but, as it is difficult to 
disentangle the fibre from the seed, its extensive culture is 
not attempted, although it eminently flourishes in this climate, 
and is a most important article. Every evening, we have 
noticed the negroes, old and young, clustered in their huts, 



1778.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 59 

around their pine-knot fires, plucking the obstinate seed from 
the cotton.* 

Deer and foxes abound on this island. Beau- £ 0t han§ icking ' 
fort is handsomely situated, and contains about Beaufort, 
seventy houses, besides public buildings ; and is 
defended by a respectable fort, two miles below the town. We 
retraced our steps, and again crossed the ferry. At noon, 
stopping at a very decent-looking house, which we supposed 
to be a tavern, we ordered our dinner, wine, etc., with the 
utmost freedom. What was our amazement and mortifica- 

* This, it is not necessary to add, was before the days of Eli Whitney, one 
of the great benefactors of the South. Mr. Whitney was a native of Con- 
necticut, early distinguished for his mechanical genius, who visited Georgia 
in the prospect of securing a situation as private tutor. He was disap- 
pointed in the hope, and was received, almost in charity, under the benevo- 
lent roof of Mrs. Greene, the widow of General Greene. 

A party of gentlemeD, conversing incidently on the subject, were lament- 
ing that there was no means of separating the seed from the cotton ; and 
remarked, that until ingenuity could devise some machine to effect the 
purpose, it was vain to think of raising cotton to export. " Gentlemen," 
said Mrs. Greene, " apply to my young friend, Mr. Whitney ; he can make 
anything." When the matter was proposed to Whitney, he replied, that he 
had never seen cotton or cotton seed in his life. The subject was thus, 
however, suggested to his mind ; and, with tools most inadequate, and 
much of the materials made by himself, in the course of a few months, he 
perfected a machine which answered every desired purpose. Thus, by the 
force of intuitive genius, one man called into practical being the staple of 
an entire country, revolutionized its affairs, and added millions to its 
wealth. 

When the fact of the invention was known, the populace was so deter- 
mined to possess the machine, that they broke open his house and seized it. 
Before Whitney was able to make his model and procure his patent, many 
machines were already in operation. This violent procedure robbed him of 
much of the benefit of his invention. It was emphatically stated by Whitney, 
in a subsequent application to Congress for remuneration, (and in which, 
with singular ingratitude, he was defeated by the efforts of Southern mem- 
bers,) " that his invention had been the source of opulence to thousands of 
the citizens of the United States, and that as a labor-saving machine it 
would enable one man to perform the work of one thousand men." 



60 Men and Times of the Revolution ; [1778. 

tion, when, inquiring for the bill, our host replied, " Gentle- 
men, I keep no tavern, but am very much obliged to you 
for your visit." In the true spirit of southern liberality, he 
insisted upon our taking a bed with him on our return from 
Georgia. This incident exhibits the beautiful trait of hospi- 
tality, for which the south is so distinguished. 

On the 6th of February, we reached the Savannah river 
at Zubly's ferry. At the same time, Dr. Zubly and his 

Dr Zubi son crosse d the river from the Georgia side. 

Dr. Zubly, a very learned and eminent man, 
is a Swiss by birth, and recently was a distinguished preacher 
in Savannah. Zealous in the cause of American liberty, he 
represented Georgia in the first Congress which assembled at 
Philadelphia, in September, 1774. This measure tended to 
weaken the chain by which a mighty continent was held in 
colonization, by a little island three thousand miles distant. 
Dr. Zubly informed us, that he could not conscientiously 
sustain the cause of Independence ; and, in consequence, that 
he and his son were this day banished from Georgia, and his 
estate confiscated. He expressed strong indignation, at the 
ingratitude and harshness he had experienced. Although 
he was much depressed and extremely agitated, his conver- 
sation was in the highest degree interesting and instructive. 
He concluded the evening, with an eloquent and affecting 
appeal to the throne of grace, to vindicate the rectitude of his 
intentions. 

We had been constrained to stop, the night before, at a 
wretched hovel, kept by an old Irish ghole. We fared in 
the worst possible manner. The old woman was covered 
with filth and snuff; there was no light but pine-knots; and 
the room was filled with smoke. A decrepit, dirty wench 
was busy about the fire, cooking our supper ; but we saw 
enough to stay proceedings, and contented ourselves with a 
meal of sweet potatoes, peeled by our own hands, and pure 



1778.] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 61 

water. Soon after we had finished our repast, the infuriated 
hag burst into our room; and, seizing one of our whips, 
rushed into an adjoining bed-room, with a pine torch in her 
hands, an impersonation of fury. Here she applied her 
heavy strokes to the poor, helpless wench, who could scarce- 
ly crawl, with the most diabolical purpose. Knocking the 
negress down, she commenced pounding her head with the 
but end of the whip. Fearing she might commit murder, 
we arrested her infernal arm, when she turned the full bat- 
tery of her Billingsgate on us, swearing she had a right " to 
kill her own nager, if she plased." This painful scene illus- 
trated a remark I often heard at the South, that Northern 
overseers were the hardest task-masters, and foreign owners 
the most cruel masters. The relation between the native 
master and his slave, seems generally to be of the fondest 
and most affectionate character. At the dawn of the ensuing 
morning, we rejoiced to leave this den, after conferring our 
blessing upon mother Adamson. 

The next day, we crossed the river and entered Georgia, 
We traversed a bad causeway ; and, for the first time in sev- 
eral hundred miles, ascended a steep hill, and passed several 
rivulets running briskly across the road. This was a new 
and cheering sight. From the ferry to Savannah, a distance 
of twenty-four miles, we noticed many valuable plantations, 
where rice, tobacco, and indigo are cultivated with success. 
We also remarked extensive orchards of white mulberries, 
designed to supply silk- worms. 

The silk culture has taken deep root in this State, and will 
doubtless become an important staple for ex- 
portation, in a few years.* We crossed some 
small bridges, traversed several hills, and then entered Sa- 



* 1821. Silk has long been cultivated at the North (in Connecticut) as well 
as Georgia ; and its culture should now be pursued with augmented energy. 



62 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1778. 

vannah, the capital of Georgia. We delivered our letters to 
General Walton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, and to Commodore Bowen and other gentlemen, 
which gained us early admission into the delightful society 
of the city. Savannah is situated on the south 

Savannah. J 

side of the river, upon a high sandbluff, over- 
looking the river, and commanding a beautiful view of the 
adjacent country, which is principally appropriated to rice 
plantations. 

The culture of rice, and the process of preparing it for 

market, are deeply interesting. Near the 1st of April, it is 

sown in rows about three feet apart, and, by 

the 1st of June, it becomes from six to eight 

inches high. The weeds are then taken out; and water 

is admitted by means of sluices, from some adjacent stream. 



This would save to the nation millions of dollars annually, which now are 
abstracted from the country, to pamper the manufactures of the old world. 

Another analogous interest demands the earnest attention of southern 
patriots. I allude to the tea culture. The history of this extraordinary 
plant is involved in much obscurity. China and Japan being the seats of 
its growth, Europeans have been excluded from any observation or knowl- 
edge of its mode of cultivation. It is ascertained, however, that it delights 
in valleys and the sides of hills affording a southern exposure ; that it is 
congenial to mild and temperate climates, growing between 30° and 45° 
north latitude, which probably corresponds to about 10° less on this conti- 
nent. It flourishes most on rocky land, and succeeds equally well on poor 
and on rich soils. Tea was first introduced into Europe in 1610, and was 
then only used for medicinal purposes. It has now become almost a staff 
of life. 

From VlVl to 1726, only seven hundred thousand pounds were annually 
imported in Great Britain. The import of the article now, 1821, exceeds 
each year twenty millions, and is rapidly increasing. Thus the soil of China, 
and the industry of her people, is more productive to the nation than the 
mountains of gold and silver of South America are to Spain. The success- 
ful agriculture of China renders Europe and America tributary to her. Why 
should not the agricultural societies of the South turn their attention to 
this subject ? 



1778.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 63 

The water is occasionally drawn off, and a fresh, supply in- 
troduced. When in blossom, the rice presents a most beau- 
tiful appearance, the flowers seeming to float on the surface 
of the water, and perfuming the air with a most delicious 
fragrance. In September, when the waving harvest rises 
considerably above the water, it is said to exhibit a curious 
and very rich aspect. After the grain is ripe, and the water 
drawn off, the rice is reaped, and stacked in the same manner 
as wheat. After threshing, it is pounded in mortars, ten or 
twelve in a row, each containing about half a peck. The 
pounders are lifted by a simple machine, with the application 
of horse-power. After this process, it is sifted and cleansed 
for packing. 

When I consider the vast expense of preparing the swamps 
for the cultivation of rice, and stocking the plantations with 
negroes, together with the cheapness of the article, I am as- 
tonished at the large fortunes which have been realized from 
the cultivation of this commodity. An acre of rich swamp- 
land adapted to the rice culture, will produce twenty-five 
casks, of five hundred pounds each. The Georgia rice is 
confessedly the best, it being larger than that produced in 
the Carolinas. The indigo of the latter is, however, decided- 
ly superior to that of Georgia. Cotton, as I 
have already observed, was then beginning to 
be cultivated for domestic purposes, as we raise flax and wool 
in New England.* 

We decided to attempt the prosecution of our tour into 
Bast Florida. Previous to this, our curiosity induced us to 

* The sea-island cotton, I have been informed recently, (1821 ) by a re- 
spectable planter, was first introduced within the present century. The 
compass of a note will not authorize a view of the interesting history of the 
cotton culture since 1778, now, by far, the most valuable staple of America. 
The average of cotton exported in 1817, '18 and '19, was 88,705,850 lbs; and 
its average value, $25,014,410. 



64 Men and Times of the Revolution ; [i 77 8. 

make an excursion to the celebrated Orphan House, estab- 
whitefleid. lished h J Whitefleid. He passed and repassed 
the Atlantic, repeatedly, traversing the extent 
of the colonies like a flaming meteor, constantly soliciting 
chanty, as well in Europe as in America, for this object by 
the most energetic strains of the most powerful eloquence 
touching alike the heads and pockets of his delighted au- 
diences.* 

The avowed object of collecting these funds, was the es- 
tablishment of an asylum for the numerous orphan children 
of the early adventurers to Georgia, who fell victims, in im- 
poverished circumstances, to the ravages of the climate 
Their forlorn condition called forth the sympathy, and se- 
cured the patronage, of Whitefleid. 

We travelled twelve miles, through a succession of fine 
plantations, and were politely received by Mr. Piercv, an 
Episcopalian clergyman, who was left in charge of the pro- 
perty by Mr. Whitefleid. The occurrence of the war and 
the destruction of the centre building, (which left only the 
two wings standing,) have frustrated the design of the founder. 
Mr. Piercy showed us an elegant painting of the Countess 
of Huntington, the friend of Whitefleid, and patroness of 
this institution. We found the family of Mr. Piercy highly 
refined and intelligent, and enjoyed their kind hospitality 
with much interest. Meeting people of their cultivation and 
refinement, m this remote and solitary abode, was to us the 
source of equal surprise and gratification. The religious du- 
ties of the evening were performed, with great solemnity 
and impressiveness. At the ringing of a small bell, the ne- 
groes with their children, aU came in, to unite with the fam- 
ily in their devotions. 
Mentioning to Mr. Piercy our purpose of visiting Flor- 

* See Dr. Franklin's account of his experience. 



1 778-] Or j Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 65 

ida, lie dissuaded us from it, stating that it was not only in 
tlie occupation of the English, but that we should also be 
exposed to the attack of hostile Indians, who were hovering 
about the borders. However ardent our desire to advance 
still farther toward the South would have been, under other 
circumstances, we concluded to limit our jour- A , ^. 

OfifGGCnGG xvlVGl*. 

ney to the river Ogeechee. Mr. Piercy's brother 
accompanied us on the expedition. After traversing a pine 
barren the greater part of the distance, we reached the river, 
which is about a mile wide, mantled, on the opposite side, 
with extensive forests. 

Having travelled about fifteen hundred miles, from North 
to South, it was with delight that I turned to the right about, 
on the banks of the Ogeechee, and once more faced my dear 
native New England. 

On our return, we deviated from our route, to visit a 
wealthy planter, Greorge A. Hall, who had urgently invited 
us to his plantation. We turned from our di- 
rect road, into a muddy avenue, two miles in EeSdenoe. 
length, cut through the forest. At its termi- 
nation, we found ourselves in an open space, occupied by a 
miniature palace, elegant in its exterior, and embellished 
with the most refined taste, in the midst of a noble planta- 
tion, and surrounded with a little village of negro huts. 
Every thing in and about the house announced wealth and 
elegance. A highly ornamented flower-garden I saw bloom- 
ing, on the 16th of February, in all the glory and beauty of 
spring in New England. In wandering over the grounds, 
we observed a large collection of negroes, seated upon rice 
straw, making; a miserable meal upon boiled 

■ - to T . . r . . . Slaves. 

rice and pure water. It is truly astonishing, 
how the slave can sustain life with this wretched pittance, 
and even appear in good health and condition, compelled to 
labor from dawn to night, through the long summer days, 



66 Men and Times of the Revolution; [177B. 

under the scorching rays of the intense sun, with no shelter 
for his head, and, in most instances, his black and oily skin 
exposed to its full beams ; yet they seemed joyous and happy. 
In contemplating the wealth, splendor, and magnificence of 
the Southern planter, I cannot divest my mind of the idea, 
that they are all produced by the sweat and blood of the 
slave.* 

The face of the country, in South Carolina and Georgia, 

along the sea-board, and from fifty to a hundred miles inland, 

is generally level, clothed with wood, princi- 

Faceofthe pally forests of pines, of immense size and 

Country ; Pro- f . *{ T n . r . . 

ducts; Health, height. In the interior, the country rises into 
waving hills. On the creeks and rivers, a deep 
alluvial soil prevails, which is devoted to the rice plantations. 
In the interior, wheat, tobacco, and corn are cultivated in 
great abundance. This region is healthy, whilst the terri- 
tory bordering on the sea is subject, during the summer and 
fall months, to noxious vapors exhaling from the low lands. 

On our return to Charleston, we had an opportunity of 
witnessing a scene of appalling, and yet extreme interest. 
Travelling after dark, we found ourselves in the midst of a 
forest on fire. For several miles, the country 
was in a blaze. The wind blew fresh, which 
moved and agitated the fire, giving it the appearance of a 
sea of flames, rolling and convulsed. The gigantic pines, 
blazing and crackling, covered with fire to their tops, were 
falling with tremendous crashes, in every direction. We ex- 
tricated ourselves, with no small hazard, from the burning 
and falling timber. 

* Northern men, in yielding to the instincts which revolt at slavery, and 
indulging in strictures upon its existence and atrocities, should consider the 
fact, that the impulses of Northern cupidity aided its introduction, by the 
agency of Northern ships and capital. How many of the princely fortunes 
of New England had their basis in the slave trade ! 1821. 



i77 8 -] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson 67 

After an absence of nineteen days, occupied in a most de- 
lightful excursion, we returned to Charleston. 
This city is situated on a point of land, at the 
confluence of Cooper and Ashley rivers. Its harbor is spa- 
cious, and might conveniently contain five hundred ships. 
The bar at the mouth, however, does not admit of the pas- 
sage of vessels carrying more than eleven feet water. Al- 
though this circumstance affords some protection against the 
approach of an enemy, the navigation is hazardous, in tem- 
pestuous weather. It is defended (and was well defended 
the year before) by Fort Moultrie. Fort John- 
son lies on the south side of the harbor, about 
two miles from the city. There are also three other forts for 
its protection, mounting, in all, two hundred pieces of cannon. 
Previous to the late fire, Charleston contained one thousand 
and eight hundred houses, besides public edifices. In Broad 
street is placed a fine marble statue of the great Pitt, with 
an appropriate inscription. 

Before the Revolution, about a hundred and forty ships 
were annually freighted at Charleston, Georgetown, and 
Beaufort, principally at the first, with rice, 
indigo, tobacco, skins, and naval stores ; about 
seventy thousand casks of rice, and thirty thousand deer- 
skins, were yearly exported. Numerous evidences exist, that 
the whole region of the flat sea-board has, at some former 
period, escaped from the dominion of the ocean. Among 
these evidences, numerous fossil remains of marine shells 
are everywhere revealed. 

Among the females of Charleston, we observed many ele- 
gant, accomplished women, but generally with 
sallow complexions, and without that bloom 
which distinguishes daughters of the North. Perhaps no 
other city of America exhibits, in proportion, so much 
splendor and style, as Charleston. The rich planters of the 



68 Men and Times of the Revolution; [i 77 8. 

State live in almost Asiatic luxury, and usually, before the 
Bevolution, educated their sons in Europe.* 

On the 8th of March, 1778, we departed from Charleston, 
Departure. ° n our rfeturn to New England. Several gentle- 

men, with great kindness and courtesy, accom- 
panied us to the ferry. Our company consisted of my for- 
mer companion, Mr. Broomfield, Mr. Gibbs, of Philadelphia, 
and Captain Paul Hussey, of Providence, accompanied by 
old Silas and the dog Watch, both of them with us in our 
Georgia expedition. Hussey we found a jovial, excellent 
companion, always unfortunate, but always cheerful; and 
full of humor and of story, which he had collected from most 
extensive reading, and garnered up in a retentive memory. 
He always had a laugh in his squint eye, and a good story 
upon his lips. He named his horse, (an animal as unique as 
his master,) De Casto. Hussey's excellent wit and knowledge 
of the world, always secured us good fare.f 

From the ferry we proceeded to Sullivan's Island, to view 
Fort Moultrie. Here the fleet of Sir Peter Parker, in June, 
1776, was disgracefully defeated, with the loss of a frigate' 
by raw and hastily-collected troops. The fort is constructed 
of palmetto wood, a timber very similar to cork, in some of 
its properties. Balls could not effectually penetrate it. The 
fort was then defended by four hundred and fifty troops, and 
mounted sixty-five guns. During the attack upon it, Ser- 

* I procured a passport from Governor Rutledge, for my protection. I 
introduce a copy from the original, which I still retain as an interesting 
memorial of those times of trial and suspicion : 

"Mr. Elkanah Watson is permitted to go from hence to Pennsylvania. 

J. Rutledge. 
all whom it may concern. Charleston, So. Carolina. 

March, 1778." 

t He was shipwrecked and drowned, some years after, on the coast of 
France. 



1778.] Or, Memoirs of ETkanah Watson. 69 

geant Jasper performed a heroic exploit, that will consign his 
name to posterity. In the heat of the engage- 

, f .. . . n ~> . ° Sergeant Jasper. 

ment, the American nag-stan was snot away ; 

Jasper leaped over the entrenchment, and, amid the most 

tremendous fire, restored it to its place. 

We were overtaken by Hussey, at the ferry-house near 
Wilmington, he having been detained at Georgetown. He 
came in, early in the morning, covered with mud, and jaded 
out with fatigue, giving us a most piteous account of his trials 
the night previous. Eager to overtake us, he had pressed 
forward, through the pine wilderness in the region of Lock- 
wood's Folly; and, when night overtook him, he fell into a 
by-path, and was bewildered among swamps. 
His horse failed, exhausted by hard travelling Ad^nture. 
without food. Fortunately for Hussey, he car- 
ried flint and steel, and thus lighted a fire. He spent the 
night in fighting wolves, attracted by the light from the 
wilds, with pitch-pine flaming brands. At daylight he as- 
cended a tall sapling, "to look out for land," as he termed it, 
and saw Wilmington and the ferry -house not far off. 

Whilst at Wilmington, I witnessed a heart-rending spec- 
tacle ; the sale of a negro family, under the sheriff's hammer. 
They were driven in from the country, like 

• n -, a -it 1 V- i Negro Sale. 

swine lor market. A wench clung to a little 
daughter, and implored, with the most agonizing supplication, 
that they might not be separated. But alas, either the mas- 
ter or circumstances were inexorable : they were sold to dif- 
ferent purchasers. The husband and residue of the family 
were knocked off to the highest bidder. 

Between Wilmington and Tarborough, the face of the 
country gradually changes, presenting more undulating land, 
and frequent brooks rippling across the road. It abounds 
in luxuriant peach orchards. During our journey, we were 
overtaken by a dark, stormy evening ; and were compelled 



70 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1778. 

to take possession of a deserted log hut, where we soon kin- 
dled a fire, and encamped on the floor for the night. Tarbor- 
ough is a small village, situated on Tar river, 
and will, I think, in time, become a place of 
consequence. The country around it is healthy and elevated, 
and much appropriated to the tobacco culture. 

Halifax is on the Eoanoke river, which, rising beyond the 
Blue Eidge, leaves Virginia, fifteen or twenty miles from this 
place, and discharges itself into Albemarle 
Sound, at Plymouth, a point sixty miles dis- 
tant. The borders of this river are esteemed the wealthiest 
region of North Carolina. Its soil is rich and highly culti- 
vated, producing corn, pease, and tobacco, in immense quan- 
tities, and also some rice. "We noticed vast droves of hogs, 
ranging among these plantations. Mr. Hall, a planter in this 
vicinity, produces, annually, it was stated, three thousand 
barrels of corn, and four thousand bushels of pease. Many 
elegant seats are situated on the margin of the 
Eoanoke, although the district is esteemed un- 
healthy. Halifax contains about forty-five dwellings, occu- 
pying one wide street, and ascending to a high sand-bluff. 
The society in this vicinity, is considered among the most 
polished and cultivated in the State. 

On our way from Halifax to Williamsburg, Hussey's curi- 
osity exposed him to imminent danger. The creeks through 
this territory are infested by a most venomous 

Homed snake. jM - .. n , , 

reptile, — the horned snake, — whose sting is 
death. In passing a swamp, we noticed one of them, coiled 
up in a position that made us suppose it dead. Hussey dis- 
mounted, to examine it minutely. The moment his whip 
touched it, the snake coiled itself in an attitude of attack, its 
head horribly flattened, its eyes sparkling fire, and its exe- 
crable tongue darting out of its mouth. After the danger 
was over, we laughed heartily at Hussey's fright and discom- 



1778.] Or, Memoirs of Mkanah Watson. 71 

fiture. This snake has sharp, fine teeth ; but its subtle venom 
is contained in a horn, tapering to a fine point, at the end 
of the tail, whence it is ejected. I was told, that the poison 
was fatal to a tree, if stung by the snake when the sap is as- 
cending. 

A method prevails in this country, of blazing the trees at 
certain distances, which furnishes a grade to the 

. . Blazed Trees. 

traveller, even in the ordinary obscurity of 
night. This is produced, by simply slashing a strip of bark 
from two opposite sides of a tree. The white spots thus 
formed, may be seen at a great distance, in an open forest. 
We remarked the country towards James river to be thinly 
settled, and generally clothed with forests. We 

-, ,-. . . . -,-, i , .- James Eiver. 

again crossed this river in a small boat, with a 
stupid negro ferryman. James river is a most majestic 
stream, second, in importance, only to the Hudson, Delaware, 
and Potomac. It receives in its course seven large con- 
fluents. It is stated, that, before the Eevolution, its com- 
merce embraced the exportation of thirty thousand hogsheads 
of tobacco. 

In passing Hanover Court-House, Virginia, we found the 
whole county assembled at an election. The 
moment I alighted, a wretched pug-nosed fel- Hanover Court- 
low assailed me, to swap watches. I had hard- Election, 
ly shaken him off, when I was attacked by a 
wild Irishman, who insisted on my " swapping horses" with 
him ; and, in a twinkling ran up the pedigree of his horse 
to the grand-dam. Treating his importunity with little re- 
spect, I was near being involved in a boxing- 

r , ' , T . , & . -. T ,., & Manners ; Fight. 

match, the Irishman swearing that 1 did not 
" trate him like a jintleman." I had hardly escaped this di- 
lemma, when my attention was attracted to a fight between 
two very unwieldy, fat men, foaming and puffing like two 
furies, until one succeeded in twisting his forefinger in a side- 



72 Men and Times of the Revolution ; [1778. 

lock of the other's hair, and was in the act of thrusting, by 
this purchase, his thumb into his adversary's eye, when he 
bawled out "King's cruse," equivalent, in technical lan- 
guage, to " enough." 

From Fredericksburg to Alexandria, we found frightfully 
bad roads. The latter place is situated on the 
Potomac, on an elevated plain overlooking the 
river. Its streets are laid out after the plan of Philadelphia, 
and upon a large scale, in anticipation of a great city. Con- 
sidering its peculiar advantages of position, at the head of the 
bold navigation of one of the noblest rivers in the world, I 
see nothing to prevent the anticipation's being fully realized. 
The Potomac is surpassed only by the Hudson, 
in magnificence and utility. It rises far west, 
near the sources of the Monongahela. A communication -is 
therefore practicable, between the waters of the Ohio and the 
Potomac. I understood that the latter, with the aid of locks 
to pass three falls, may be made navigable for 

gation. Navl " lar S e boats > t0 Fort Cumberland, two hundred 
miles west of Alexandria. It is ten miles wide 
at its mouth. Ten miles below this city, its majestic flood 
laves Mount Vernon, the sequestered seat of the immortal 
Washington. 

The influence of slavery upon southern habits, is peculiarly 

exhibited in the prevailing indolence of the 

people. It would seem as if the poor white 

man had almost rather starve than work, because the negro 

works. 

On the 10th of April, we reached Baltimore. After leaving 
Alexandria, we crossed the Potomac, near Mason's island,* 
to Georgetown, This place contains about twenty-five good 
stone houses, erected on the side of a hill. After leaving 

* The present delightful residence of the excellent General John Mason. 
1821 



1778.] Or j Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 73 

Georgetown, we abandoned, by mistake, the main road ; and, 
soon becoming entangled among plantations and by-roads, 
spent several hours, before we recovered our route.* Near 
Elk Eidge, we observed several iron works, and also a can- 
non foundry. Baltimore is situated on the Patapsco, and 
contains about six thousand inhabitants. The 

1 i n t -1 t • -1 i • Baltimore. 

harbor forms a basin, around which the city is 
built. Heavy vessels load and discharge at Fell's Point, 
which is itself a small city. An immense iron chain is 
stretched across the harbor, for the protection of the town, 
which is defended by Fort McHenry, mounting sixty guns. 
A strong commercial rivalry will, it is supposed, soon spring 
up between Baltimore and Alexandria. It appears probable, 
that the peculiarly favorable position of Alexandria will se- 
cure to that city the pre-eminence. We crossed the Susque- 
hannah river, near its mouth. This river rises from several 
sources in New York, and, after traversing Pennsylvania, 
discharges itself into the Chesapeake. It is shallow through- 
out its whole extent, and has not afforded any site for a city. 
On the 14th of April, we again entered the State of Penn- 
sylvania, and travelled the whole day through a delightful 
country, richly improved by the industry of its 
Dutch and German population. Our road lay 
along the heights of undulating hills, which stretched from 
the Susquehannah to the Schuylkill. Another range runs 
parallel to this chain. The valley between, and most of the 
slopes of the hill-sides, are laid out in regular farms, and are 
under high cultivation. The verdure of the fields, and the 
neatness and superior tillage of the farms in the rich vales, 
were so grateful to the eye, after being long accustomed to 
southern scenes, as to make us almost insensible to the bad 

* The scene of these wanderings was undoubtedly the locality now occu- 
pied by the city of Washington. 1821. 
4 



74 Men and Times of the Revolution; r jn%- 

roads we were travelling. The contrast, so obvious and so 
strong, in the appearance of these farms and of 
the southern plantations, will strike every ob- 
server, and can be imputed to but one cause. Here, we wit- 
ness the impulses and results of honest industry, where free- 
men labor for themselves. There, we see the feeble efforts 
of coerced labor, performed by the enervated slave, unin- 
spired by personal interest, and unimpelled by a worthy am- 
bition. These distinctions are perceptible, even between 
Maryland and Pennsylvania, separated only by an imaginary 
line. 

On our journey to Valley Forge, a heavy storm, and roads 
almost impassable, compelled us to seek shelter at the house 
of an opulent farmer. Here we were received 
Farmer 1 ™^ w ^ ^ G kindest hospitality ; and we found our 
host an intelligent, sensible man. He had a 
fine library, and was well informed on most subjects. His 
house was spacious and neat, and well supplied with the 
comforts and substantials of life. Independence, wealth, and 
contentment were conspicuous in every thing, within and 
without the house. This man was but a specimen of his 
class, — virtuous, affluent, and intelligent republican freemen. 
On the morning of the 16th, we reached Washington's 
camp at Valley Forge, situated on the heights of the Schuyl- 
kill. Here I met friends and relatives from 

Valley Forge. __. _ _ n _... 

New England. The army continues yet m 
winter-quarters, the fourth campaign being at hand. God 
grant, that it may be as fortunate as the last ! I spent a day 
in the camp, attending the reviews, and examining the con- 
dition and situation of the army. My heart bled, at the re- 
cital of their sufferings and privations the past winter. Ex- 
alted virtue and patriotism, and the strong attachment of the 
officers to General Washington, only held the army together. 
The poor soldiers were half naked, and had been half starved, 



177&] Or , Memoirs of ETkanah Watson. 75 

haying been compelled, for weeks, to subsist on simple flour 
alone, and this too in a land almost literally flowing with 
milk and honey. Oh, these detestable Tories ! I saw Wash- 
ington on horseback, attended by his aids, passing through 
the camp. 

Between Yalley Forge and Bethlehem, the country is well 
cultivated. The streams are spanned by stone arch bridges, 
and occupied by valuable flouring-mills. The country in the 
vicinity of the camp, and occupied by a Tory population, was 
in a disorganized state. The roads were infested by maraud- 
ers, which rendered travelling dangerous. Arriving at our 
stopping-place for the night, we found it crowded with sol- 
diers and wagoners, and a perfect Babel. We hired a soldier 
to guard our horses ; and I fortunately secured a berth for 
the night, between two drunken wagoners. 

I again visited Bethlehem ; and we remained a day, to wit- 
ness an interesting Moravian religious ceremony, which was 
to commence before the next morning. Soon 
after midnight, Hussey gave me a jog. I heard Bethlehem ; 
the distant music of a band. The night was Ceremonies, 
dark and serene, and all nature was hushed. 
We dressed and repaired to the Moravian chapel. The men 
entered at one door, at the same moment the sisters were 
ushered in at the other, marching two and two, and present- 
ing a ghastly appearance, with their peculiar dress and light 
white caps. As they entered, the music continued. A 
priest then ascended the pulpit, made a short prayer in Ger- 
man, which was followed by an anthem. The Moravians 
then formed a procession, the men in advance, and the spec- 
tators following the females ; all marching in the dark, to the 
solemn and slow music of the band, performing a dead march. 

In this manner we proceeded to their burial-ground, where 
the whole formed a square, facing inwards, with the band in 
the centre. This cemetery forms an area of about two acres. 



76 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1778. 

The graves are elevated, about eight inches. On the centre 
of each is placed a flat stone, about eighteen inches square, 
upon which is inscribed a brief epitaph. A calm, impres- 
sive silence prevailed, until the first appearance of the sun. 
Then all was bustle and commotion. The musicians marched 
along the spacious alleys, playing a funeral dirge. The 
priest was occupied in reading, in an audible voice, the in- 
scription on the stone, now commenting, and now praying, 
the eyes of all being turned the while, devoutly raised to 
heaven. The whole ceremony concluded with a prayer ; and 
the Moravians again formed a procession, and returned to the 
Chapel. This ceremony, I understood, was commemorative 
of the resurrection of the Saviour. The whole spectacle was 
particularly solemn and imposing. Our curiosity gratified, 
we left Bethlehem; and, crossing the Delaware at Easton, 
entered New Jersey. 

We met, in our progress through New Jersey, Colonel 
Van Schaick's regiment of the New York line,* and nume- 
rous bodies of troops, on their march to Valley 
Troop n s ! ntal Forge. The country was badly cultivated, and 
thinly settled ; and was very much exhausted 
by the constant passage of troops. Our fare was very indif- 
ferent ; one night we spent in a house, without food, and 
were obliged to sleep in a garret upon a pile of oats, with no 
covering but our clothes. In this house, I noticed a woman 
sitting by a roaring fire, wrapped up in blankets, " to sweat 
out the small-pox" as they said. Her face ex- 
ma po. hibited the most frightful deformity ; what was 
once "the human face divine," was now a loathsome mass 

* The organization of the Revolutionary army into lines of the different 
States, tended greatly to animate and foster that spirit of local feeling and 
State jealousies, which so much obstructed the progress of the Revolution. 
Washington felt and appreciated the evil, but the existing form of govern- 
ment was unable to correct it. 



1778.] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson, 77 

of disease. Having been inoculated myself, two years be- 
fore, in the dead of winter, in an open barrack, and not 
permitted to approach a fire, I prevailed on these ignorant 
people to remove her from the fire and withdraw the blank- 
ets. 

I reached Providence, on the 29th of April, 1778, after an 
absence of about eight months, having traversed ten States, 
and travelled nearly two thousand seven hundred miles. 

Having, in this protracted tour, just completed throughout 
the extensive sea-board of the United States, devoted my 
daily attention to inquiries and to a personal 
examination, and having habitually committed Reflecfions. 
to my journal the result of observations whilst 
fresh in my mind, I can now take a general retrospect of 
the whole subject, and exhibit the impressions I have re- 
ceived. 

" When the extent of America is duly considered, boldly 
fronting the Old World, blessed with every climate, capable 
of every production, abounding with the best harbors and 
rivers on the globe, overspread with three millions of souls, 
mostly of English descent, inheriting all their ancient enthu- 
siasm for liberty, and enterprising, almost to a fault, what 
may not be expected from such a people, in such a country, 
and doubling in population every twenty -five years ! 

"The partial hand of nature has laid out America, on a 
much larger scale than any other country. What are called 
mountains, in Europe, are hills in America ; rivers are reduced 
to brooks ; trees, to bushes ; and lakes, to ponds. In short, 
the map of the world presents to view no country, which 
combines so many natural advantages, is so pleasantly diver- 
sified, and offers to agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, 
so many resources ; all of which cannot fail to conduct Amer- 
ica to the first rank among nations. This I prophesy. It 
must be so. In contemplating future America, the mind is 



78 Men and Times of the Revolution. [1778. 

lost in the din of cities, in harbors, and rivers, crowded with 
sails, and in the immensity of its population."* 

Taking three millions, the number at this time, as a basis, 
and admitting our population to double every twenty -three 
years, the result, in a hundred years, will be sixty -two mil- 
lions of republican freemen, approaching one hundred mil- 
lions, in the year 1900, which will be nearly equal to that of 
all Europe at the present day. 

The sagacious statesmen of Europe realize these truths, 
and already dread the influence which the greatness and pros- 
perity of America is destined to exercise upon the world. 
The European possessions in the West India Islands, will 
pass away like .a cloud, and will be held as appendages to 
the American Eepublic, or will be emancipated, and will be- 
come independent governments. 

Though European politicians may consider these events 
too remote to affect any portion of the present generation of 
men, still they will* obstruct our progress by every means in 
their power. Their efforts will be as vain as presumptuous ; 
and they will prove as powerless, as an attempt to check the 
flowing of the tide. Their schemes will, in fact, be an effort 
to arrest the decrees of the Almighty, who has evidently 
raised up this nation, to become a lamp to guide degraded 
and oppressed humanity, and to direct other nations, even 
the nation of our oppressors, to liberty and happiness. 

* The above paragraphs, marked as a quotation, were first published in 
Morse's Geography, in 1789, as an extract from my Journal; and, after be- 
ing republished in other works, in 1829 I read it in Dr. Hosack's Memoir of 
De Witt Clinton, extracted from "Tatham on Inland Navigation," an Eng- 
lish work, where it appeared as original. I notice the fact, as an evidence 
of unjust plagiarism. 




Introduction to French Society. Page 103. 



CHAPTER IV. 



On my return to Rhode Island, the British forces were in 
occupation of Newport; and the commerce of 
Providence was still obstructed and paralyzed 
by the operations of the war. Uneasy and restive in my un- 
employed situation, I still retained my travelling propensity, 
and visited, during this time, various sections of the State of 
Rhode Island. 

After all my wanderings and my observation of other 
parts of the Confederacy, I still look upon Rhode Island as 
one of the most delightful and interesting of the States. The 
year before the Revolution, it contained nearly sixty thousand 
souls. It produced butter, beef, lumber, horses, pot and pearl 
ashes, and two hundred thousand pounds of inferior tobacco. 



80 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1778. 

Narraganset Bay, formed by Rhode Island on one sid >, 
and the fertile shores of Narraganset on the other, and 
studded with numerous lovely islands, presents the most de- 
lightful scenery. 

Newport is beautifully situated ; and was a favorite resort 
of Southern people, on account of its cool and 

.Newport. i -i • . 

salubrious climate. It had been one of the 
most commercial places in America, but was then falling into 
decay. Its fortunes were waning, before the superior activity 
„ ;, and enterprise of its rival, Providence. This 

Jr rovidence* 

city had, within forty years, emerged from the 
obscurity of an inconsiderable village into a great trading 
mart, that embraced a body of perhaps the most intelligent 
merchants on the continent. It contained, at this time, about 
five thousand inhabitants. 

I proceeded from Providence to Plymouth. Before enter- 
ing my native place, I passed, for about four miles, through 
M , a pine wood, along a sandy road, — but how 

Plymouth. _.£ _ ? _ & . „ J n ^L _ „ 

different from the pine forests of JN orth Caro- 
lina ! There, free from underwood, the trees, straight and 
majestic, stretch toward the sky. Here, they are low and 
scrubbed, and matted together by briars and bushes. Yet, 
amid the dreary forests clustered a thousand delightful asso- 
ciations of my boyhood. 

I spent a few happy days, (the happiest of my life,) among 
my relatives, and in rambling alone about the vicinity of 
Plymouth. Every tree, rock, bush, and even the sand-hills, 
reminded me of some youthful gambol. The visit to the 
house and the room of my nativity, which was in the hands 
of strangers, my father's garden, the spring bubbling up with 
its pure crystal water, all affected me, even to tears. Here, 
too, alone, I visited the grave of my sainted mother. Ply- 
mouth is overlooked by a high hill, commanding a wide view 
of the ocean. When a boy, I recollect seeing from this hill 



1778.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 81 

a British fleet, containing three regiments of troops, on their 
way to Boston, to overawe and coerce her rebellious spirit. 

I proceeded by sea to Boston. It was then among the first 
class of American towns, containing about 
twenty-five thousand inhabitants. It is situated 
on a peninsula, at the foot of a spacious harbor, defended 
from the sea by thirty-six small islands. The streets were 
irregular, badly paved, without side- walks, and descending 
toward the centre. The prospect from the beacon at the 
back of the town is very fine, embracing an extensive view 
of the ocean, the harbor, and the interior. Boston is two 
miles long, and half a mile broad. The "Long Wharf" is 
probably the finest quay in America, extending half a mile 
into the harbor, with a line of warehouses and stores on 
each side. 

Marblehead is singularly laid out among rocks. It is cele- 
brated for its fish trade, the school of a hardy 
and courageous race of seamen. Salem, once salem ehead# 
the seat of the detestable witch excitement, 
was at this time a place of important commercial business, 
and contained about four hundred dwelling-houses. The 
merchants are wealthy and enterprising, and have embarked 
spiritedly in privateering. Advancing northward, I crossed 
the Merrimack river at Dracut, and entered the State of New 
Hampshire. 

On my return to Boston, I stopped at Lexington, the scene 
of the tragedy of April 19th, 1775 ; and, tra- 
versed, with no ordinary emotion, the route the 
British pursued in their retreat. 

I visited the old brick college of Cambridge, which is the 
most ancient literary institution in America, and from which 
the rays of science have been widely spread throughout New 
England. I stood upon Bunker Hill, an hour, rapt in med- 
itation upon the amazing event of which it had been so re- 
4* 



82 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1778. 

cently the theatre. My mind's eye witnessed the British 
veterans twice repulsed by the sons of the Pilgrims, deter- 
mined to be free, and with scarcely any weapons but their 
fowling-pieces; the adjacent hills, the houses, the steeples, 
the shrouds of ships, covered with twenty thousand specta- 
tors of the terrific scene, whose hearts were filled with the 
most intense excitement of hopes and fears. A spectacle of 
such deep and thrilling interest, America, and perhaps the 
world, never before witnessed. 

On the 4th of September, 1777, I left Providence, Ehode 
Island, on my Southern expedition, and arrived at Charles- 
ton, South Carolina, on the 13th of November ensuing ; thus, 
in a journey of seventy days, receding from a 
Northern climate, in the most pleasant season 
of the year, and enjoying through the whole journey an 
equal and delightful temperature. 

On the 29th of January following, I proceeded South to 
the Ogeechee river, in Georgia, the extreme Southern 
point of my journey ; and, on the 13th of February, as I 
have remarked, the flowers were in bloom in that latitude, 
and the gardens in some forwardness, the pea being in full 
blossom. 

I left Charleston on the 8th of March ensuing; and, from 
that period to the first week in June, I advanced northward, 
until I reached New Hampshire, bearing with me, the whole 
distance, the same advance of the season, the same bloom 
and fragrance. The gardens of New Hampshire were in the 
same state of advancement as those which I had left in Geor- 
gia, four months previous. What a commentary upon the 
vast magnitude and expanse of the nation ! 

How delightful will be such a tour, at the precise season 
in which I made it, when America shall arrive at that stage 
of population I have anticipated in a preceding page. Per- 
haps no two nations of Europe exhibit a greater contrast, in 



1778.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 83 

climate, in customs and manners, in their productions, and 
the physical features of the country, than the Southern and 
the Northern States of America. Mutual antipathies and 
prejudices predominated, previous to the Revolution; and 
we had every reason to apprehend that, if not allayed by 
wise and prudent measures, they would have resulted in a 
dismemberment of the Confederacy. 

The middle States observe a medium, alike in climate, in 
customs, and the face of the country ; and are neither so 
level and hot as the Southern States, nor so hilly and cold 
as those of the North and East. The people of the Northern 
section of the Confederacy are generally a hardy, industrious, 
and frugal race. At the South, they are less energetic, more 
indolent and imperious, but ardent, generous, and hospita- 
ble. I speak of the masses. 

The fisheries, commerce, and infant manufactures are the 
sinews of the North ; rice, tobacco, and indigo, the resources 
of the South. Eventually, it is probable, the North will 
supply the South with manufactures, and receive, in return, 
provisions and raw materials. All the elements of a man- 
ufacturing people are incorporated in the genius of New 
England. Its climate, the comparative -barrenness of the soil, 
its salubrity, its waving hills and abundant streams, all point 
to its certain and inherent destiny. Should an event so de- 
sirable ever be realized, and the respective sections of the 
great American Eepublic be dependent upon each other, with 
our immensely augmented and increasing population, our 
vast surplus product will enable us, as China at the present 
day, to make all other countries tributary to our own. 

Soon after my return from Georgia, I was painfully in- 
volved in, and witnessed, one of those events 
of domestic trial and affliction, which consti- scene! 

tute some of the most thrilling incidents of the 
Revolution. Edward Winslow, a near relative of my mother's, 



84 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1778. 

had been a prominent citizen of Plymouth, and lived in 
great affluence and unbounded hospitality. He was, previ- 
ous to the Eevolution, the royal collector of that district, and 
an ardent and zealous royalist. His son Edward inherited 
his virtues, and his political sentiments. 

Edward Winslow was a younger brother of General John 
Winslow's. General Winslow, who was my 
^inXw. mother's uncle, was a distinguished officer in 

the French war. He was second in command, 
under Monckton, in the expedition against Nova Scotia; 
and to him was confided the delicate and painful duty, 
of removing the French population from that country. He 
afterwards commanded the Provincial army on the Hud- 
son, and constructed, I believe, Fort Edward, which he 
named after his eminent ancestor General Winslow. He 
possessed great urbanity and kindness of manner. I recol- 
lect, distinctly, the wonderful stories with which he amused 
my childish fancy, of the amazing prowess of the Provincials, 
in cutting off the heads of Frenchmen. 

General Winslow subsequently occupied some judicial 
position, in Plymouth colony. His appearance is still vividly 
impressed on my memory, as I saw him going, in procession, 
as a member of the Court, from his quarters to the Court 
House. The judges were clothed in robes of scarlet. The 
clerk bore before them some formidable insignia of their 
power ; and the High Sheriff of the colony, carrying a drawn 
sword, and the deputies and constables their staves, formed 
the escort. The jurymen for the term were also prominent 
in the procession, which was joined by all persons of re- 
spectability who were attending at the Court. Such was the 
pomp and etiquette which royalty reflected, at that period, 
upon every department of the colonial government. I have 
adverted to General Winslow, for the purpose of commem- 
orating this interesting fact. 



1778.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 85 

At an early day, Mr. Winslow was conspicuous, for his 
zealous assertion of the royal prerogatives. When the tea 
was destroyed at Boston, the people of Plymouth held a 
public meeting, aud passed resolutions, strongly commenda- 
tory and ratifying the act. Mr. Winslow presented to the 
meeting a protest against the resolutions, signed by himself 
and a few others ; but the meeting indignantly refused to al- 
low it to be read. The undisguised Tory sentiments of Mr. 
Winslow, rendered him highly obnoxious to the Whigs ; 
and when the final rupture occurred, he was held under close 
and vigilant surveillance. 

When the contest with England had assumed its decided 
aspect, the son was compelled to escape to Boston, and seek 
protection under the British flag. He joined the army ; and, 
in the expedition to Lexington, was its guide, acting as aid to 
Lord Piercjr. In that battle, he had a horse shot under him. 
He was a manly, noble, splendid fellow ; generous to a fault, 
a gentleman in feeling, and elegant in person. An only son, 
to bear up his distinguished name, he was naturally the idol 
of his father, as well as of two maiden sisters of rare ac- 
complishments. His father remained at Plymouth, isolated 
among his Whig relations, and deprived, by the disasters of 
the times and the approaching conflict, of every means of 
support, although accustomed to all the luxuries of wealth. 

In the year 1776, the British held occupation of the island 
of Ehode Island. The son was there, in the capacity of Aid 
to the Commander-in-chief. His heart bled, for the fate of 
kindred reduced to indigence in the midst of enemies. His 
parents and sisters felt the keenest anguish from their sepa- 
ration. The father and a sister came to Providence, in June, 
'78, and solicited me, a mere youth, (so depressed was their 
condition,) to intercede with General Sullivan, then in com- 
mand at Providence, and obtain permission for the father to 
have an interview with his son, upon one of the islands in 



86 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1778. 

Narraganset Bay. The chance of success appeared to me 
hopeless ; but I pleaded in the cause of humanity, with all 
the eloquence I possessed, — first, with Mr. Brown, to inter- 
cede with Sullivan ; then, with his Aids, with whom I was 
familiar ; and ultimately, I approached the General himself, 
and had the good fortune to prevail. 

A flag was despatched to Newport, with an open letter, 
from the father to the son, appointing the time and place of 
the proposed interview. The place was the south end of 
Providence Island. Lieutenant Coleman, of the Virginia Ar- 
tillery, a gallant soldier, who was afterward killed at the 
battle of Camden, under Gates, was designated to escort the 
father ; and, at his solicitation, I accompanied them. Sulli- 
van exacted a pledge of honor from Mr. Winslow, that he 
would make his son no communications of a public nature. 

We embarked in a cartel boat, at Greenwich. As the 
place appointed was nearly equi-distant from Newport and 
Greenwich, it was understood, that the two boats should start 
at the same time. The father, sister, Coleman, and myself, 
with five oarsmen and a cockswain, occupied one boat. We 
hardly opened the bay, with an uninterrupted view toward 
Newport, where there was a forest of British masts, when we 
discovered a speck upon the water, which Coleman, with the 
aid of a glass, pronounced a boat. On this announcement, 
the father became deeply agitated: tears of joy rolled down 
his furrowed cheeks. The daughter was equally excited. 
We descended rapidly, with the tide and our oars. 

The boat, containing a charge so precious to my relatives, 
approached nearer and nearer, each boat directed to the same 
point. A doubt no longer existed. We landed, some min- 
utes before 'the other boat reached the shore. The son rose 
in the stern, and waved a white handkerchief. At this sight, 
Mr. Winslow and the daughter darted toward the shore ; 
and the former would have rushed into the water, had not 



1778.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 87 

Coleman restrained his impetuosity. Oh ! had I the pen of 
Sterne, to portray this pathetic scene ! but words recede from 
my feeble pen. When the boat had reached within ten feet 
of the shore, the son stood braced in the bow, prepared for 
a spring ; and, in another moment, he leaped half-leg deep 
into the sea. The three were in an instant entwined in one 
impassioned embrace, and in deep silence. 

The highest-toned feelings of the human heart were 
stretched to the utmost tension, and overtasked nature 
seemed exhausted. The spectacle was too sacred and affect- 
ing to be gazed upon; and Coleman seemed to forget his 
duty, in not witnessing the interview. We walked aside, in 
silence and respect, while the boats hauled off shore to a 
little distance. 

On our return to Greenwich, we spent part of the day 
with other victims of this destructive civil war, the beautiful 
young widow and two children of Lieutenant 
Reynell. She was an Irish lady, in the bloom rs * eyne 

of youth, prostrated with grief and melancholy. Her hus- 
band, an officer in Burgoyne's army, was killed in the battle 
at Bemis's Heights; while she, in company with Lady 
Harriet Ackland and other ladies, was protected in a cellar. 
The event has been pathetically described by the classic pen 
of Burgoyne. 

From the period of the above interview, until 1779, 1 was 
the medium through which Edward sent supplies to his 
father. I was much blamed by my Whig relatives, for my 
intercourse with them; but they were ever deeply grateful. 
They died, refugees in Nova Scotia. 

France having acknowledged our independence, and em- 
barked energetically in the war, all America was rejoiced 
and animated at the appearance of a French fleet of twelve 
sail-of-the-line, commanded by Count d'Estaing, off Sandy 
Hook, in the summer of 1778. In co-operation with Wash- 



88 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1778. 

ington, an attack upon New York was supposed to be their 
object. In a few days, however, we were surprised by the 
approach of a detachment of fifteen hundred men from 
Washington's army, to Providence, where General Sullivan 
then commanded. Suddenly, the French fleet appeared off 
Newport; one or two British frigates were burnt, and the 
residue of the British fleet sought refuge in the harbor. At 
once, the whole country was all bustle and activity. The 
militia came pouring in, from every quarter. 

Newport was the point upon which the storm was to fall ; 
and all supposed that the royal army, of six thousand veter- 
ans, on Ehode Island, and the British fleet, 
Newport. were within our grasp. The American army 

was principally assembled at Tiverton, oppo- 
site Ehode Island. Our Providence companies, with which 
I had again mustered, also marched to that point. 

The army crossed over to the island, and amounted to 
about ten thousand men. Sullivan was an intrepid, although 
unfortunate officer. Generals Greene and La Fayette were 
also in command on the occasion. John Hancock was like- 
wise present, in command of the Massachusetts 
inm I es H oti C s! Ck; militia. James Otis, a martyr to the cause of 
liberty, was there, a strolling lunatic about the 
camp. The great and fervid mind, that first grasped the 
idea of independence, was then a melancholy ruin. 

As I do not design to write a history of the siege, I shall 
merely trace the outline of events. The British retreated ; 
and our army regularly invested the town. General Sulli- 
van received daily assurances, that d'Estaing would enter the 
harbor, and land three thousand troops, to co- 
d'&uiing; operate with the American forces. The sur- 

Generai render of the British army seemed inevitable. 

Sulbvan. . -i/y»t 

Lord Howe, m the interim, appeared off the 
harbor, with an inferior fleet, and d'Estaing pursued him to 



1 779-] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 89 

sea, for the purpose of bringing "him to action. On the en- 
suing day, there occurred one of the most terrific storms ever 
known at the season, in this latitude. Both fleets were dis- 
abled and scattered. The French fleet gradually re-assembled 
at its former position. The ships were promptly repaired; 
and then, instead of prosecuting the siege, they sailed for 
Boston, leaving the army to its fate. Sullivan remonstrated 
in violent terms ; and La Fayette advanced every argument, 
and urged every expostulation, but the decision of the coun- 
cil of officers, convened by d'Estaing, was irrevocable. 

Had we been attacked, at this moment of dejection and 
disorganization, with vigor and promptitude by the enemy, 
the capture of our whole army was almost assured to them. 
An immediate retreat was ordered ; the British pursued ; and 
an engagement took place near Quaker Hill. Our company 
was posted behind a stone wall, and was attacked by a corps 
of Hessians. After a sharp action, the British 
withdrew; and, during the night, we effected Quaker°Hiii. 
our retreat to the main land, without the loss of 
our cannon or baggage. Our retreat was most opportune, 
as General Clinton arrived the day after, with four thousand 
men, and a formidable fleet. 

On the 22d of January, 1779, 1 attained the age of twenty- 
one, with the wide world before me; and having been 
deeply disappointed in the expectations I had 
formed, in respect to my establishment in life, I ^toTrTncl 
was induced to embrace proposals made to me 
by Mr. Brown and others, to proceed to France, in association 
with them. 

I engaged my passage, on board the packet Mercury, 
Captain Samson.* This vessel had been built at Plymouth, 

* The following year, Henry Laurens, President of Congress, was going 
out in the "Mercury," as secret emissary to Holland, when she was captured 
by a British frigate. Mr. Laurens threw his dispatches overboard. The act 



90 Men and Times of the- Revolution; [1779. 

for the government ; was constructed for rapid sailing, being 
only seventy tons burden ; and was expressly 

Packet Mercury. . 

to carry dispatches to Europe. She had been 
manned at Plymouth; and a part of her crew were un- 
fortunate schoolmates and companions of my youth. The 
position and prospects of several, in boyhood, had been equal 
to my own. Such, however, are the inscrutable dispensa- 
tions of Providence. Men arise and disappear upon the stage 
of life, who possessed the same original advantages ; and yet 
how diversified their destiny! Could society, by a Divine 
decree, be placed on a perfect equality of position, and even 
talent, the succeeding generation would present as varied an 
aspect in their condition, as the tints of the rainbow. 

Captain Simeon Sampson was one of the most valuable and 
efficient of our naval commanders, in the war of the Kevolu- 
tion. He embarked, at an early age, in maritime life ; and 
was captured, when very young, by the French; but, he 
made his escape from prison, in female attire. He was 
appointed the first naval captain, at the commencement of 
the Eevolutionary war, by the Congress of Massachusetts ; 
and was eminently distinguished, for his able and heroic 
services, in many important trusts. He was once taken, after 
a long and sanguinary naval battle, by the notorious Captain 
Dawson. At the crisis of the fight, some of his crew aban- 
doned their guns, and thus lost the battle ; and it was said, 
that, on this occasion, he cut down one of his own officers, 
who exhibited palpable cowardice. 

He was selected, afterward, on account of his conspicuous 
skill and bravery, to ^command the Mercury, which was 
devoted to the perilous duty already mentioned. He was 
subsequently promoted to the command of the Mars, a larger 

was seen, however, by an intrepid British sailor, who sprang into the sea 
from the frigate, and secured the papers. All our affairs with Holland were 
thus developed ; and, in consequence, England declared war. 



1 779.] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 91 

and finer vessel. In this ship, he was a terror to the com- 
mercial marine of the enemy. He was frequently in the 
harbor of Nantes, during my residence in that city. In his 
various ships, he made numerous captures, and had several 
successful encounters with superior vessels of the enemy. 

At the close of the war, like most other officers of the 
Eevolution, he retired, poor and dependent ; and he died, 
having scarcely passed the meridian of life. The idea, how- 
ever, should not be entertained, that the sacrifices and suffer- 
ings of the Eevolution, were limited to the army and the 
navy. Peculiar trials and privations affected them, more 
directly and individually, perhaps ; but, all classes and every 
patriot cheerfully bore the burdens which the cause imposed 
on each. Many, who were" in affluence at the commencement 
of the war, at its close were reduced to penury. 

I knew many instances, in my own family, of such a vicis- 
situde. These results were produced, not merely by the pros- 
tration of business, and the worthlessness of the paper cur- 
rency of the Eevolution, but by the absolute destruction of 
property, and its appropriation to the public cause. All 
freely made an offering of their substance, upon the altar of 
patriotism. 

I can recall an incident which, I think, occurred in the 
winter of '75, and which illustrates the spirit and zeal that 
distinguished the Whigs of that day. The occurrence was 
not unusual with my father ; nor was it peculiar to him ; for 
it had its parallel among the patriotic Whigs, everywhere, 
and continually. Intelligence was received at Plymouth, 
that the army was exposed to great suffering, from want of 
winter bedding, accompanied with an earnest appeal for re- 
lief. My father, on hearing of the fact, proceeded at once to 
his dwelling, and directed all the blankets belonging to the 
household to be collected ; and, reserving a suit only for each 
bed occupied by the family, he delivered the remainder, and 



92 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1779. 

it was no small quantity, to the committee, without remunera- 
tion, and, apparently, without regret. It should be recollected, 
that bed and bedding were then the pride, and an important 
element in the wealth, of a New England family. 

On the 4th of August, 1779, we -embarked on board the 

packet, and fell down to Nantasket roads. My 

r p ' fellow-passengers were Major Knox, brother to 

General Knox, and an English and an Irish gentleman. 

The French frigate " La Sensible," from Brest, having on 
board John Adams, and the first French ambassador to the 
young republic, Mr. Gerard, had dropped anchor, about an 
hour before. We went on board, to receive their commands 
for France. 

At dawn, the next morning, TvC weighed anchor, and stood 
out to sea. The mighty ocean spread out before us ; and the 
blue hills of Dorchester, and numerous steeples of Boston 
were gradually linking in the horizon. Sailing within sight 
of my native village, this morning, my eyes were riveted to 
the spot, until the faintest glimpse was lost. Adieu, my na- 
tive shore, adieu ! 

The whole day, all hands were employed in clearing ship, 
and stowing away spars and boats. Although deadly sea- 
sick, I was delighted with the rapid flight of our little " Mer- 
cury" across the waves, with all our sails displayed. Some 
hump-backed whales appeared ; and numerous shoals of por- 
poises were gambolling and playing about our bows. 

The second day after our departure, we were off St. 
George's Bank, in a perfect calm. The sea was hushed and 
placid. We saw distant vessels, with their sails 
Bank? 0rgeS flapping against the masts. This bank extends 
about fifty leagues. The Gulf Stream sets rap- 
idly across it ; and, undoubtedly, creates the formation, by 
the deposit of sand, scooped out of the shores of tropical re- 
gions, which it bears in its current to this place. The cod 



r 



1779 ] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 93 

fisheries on this and neighboring banks have been, since the 
earliest settlement of New England, an unfailing source of 
wealth to her enterprising sons. 

At dawn, on the 8th of August, we discovered ourselves 
to be within a league of a British frigate, bearing down upon 
us. We instantly wore ship ; and, the wind rising with the 
sun, the little Mercury soon darted away from- her pursuer. 
The frigate then fired a gun to the leeward, in token of 
friendship ; but, as there was no trusting to professions of 
this character, in those depraved days, we kept our course. 
She continued the chase, for several hours ; but, at length, 
we ran her out of sight. This evening, the western sky ex- 
hibited a most beautiful and gorgeous illumination. The 
variegated and vivid tints of the gold-edged clouds, could be 
adequately copied by no human hand. This lovely display 
of Almighty power was deeply impressed on my mind ; and 
remained, like the recollection of a highly brilliant picture, 
but infinitely beyond its influence. Sailing under a brisk 
breeze by moonlight, and our vessel lying low in the water, 
a flying-fish flew over our bows upon the deck. 

In a dead calm, we were amused with the appearance of 
porpoises and large whales, coming from the 
"vasty deep," spouting up floods of water. w2dil. eB; 
Suddenly, a school of dolphins appeared under 
our stern. Nothing can exceed the beauty of their fanciful 
and changeable colors, when the bright sunbeams play upon 
them in the water. I succeeded in taking one ; but, as soon 
as he left his native element, the beautiful 

-1 -, • i rrn i i Take a Dolphin. 

coloring, in a measure, disappeared. The dol- 
phin is pronounced by sailors generally, to be poisonous; 
yet, we had my prize cooked with some precautions, and 
found it a sumptuous feast. 

Off the Western Islands, we were again chased, in a rough 
sea and stiff gale. The result of the chase, for two hours, 



94 Men and Times of the. Revolution. [1779. 

was very doubtful. Half the time, we were almost under 
water. At length as the wind lulled, we changed our course, 
spread more canvas, and escaped. We experienced a severe 
gale in entering, as we supposed, the Bay of Biscay. It was 
the first time I witnessed a storm at sea. I crawled up the 
companion-way, to behold the sublime, yet terrible scene. 
We were quite snug ; our spars well lashed. Our little Mer- 
cury sinking into the deep abyss, and mounting the white, 
curling waves, with ease and grace, seemed to bid defiance 
to the vast watery mountains, which every moment threatened 
to overwhelm her. We surmounted the gale, without in- 
jury. The following morning we saw land-birds, observed 
grape vines floating in the sea ; the color of the water 
changed. All these indicated our approach to land. 

September 3d, a strong westerly wind wafted us, during 
the night, rapidly toward the coast of France ; and, at the ear- 
liest dawn, the man aloft cried out, " Land ;" the most delight- 
ful sound a poor landsman can hear. We all hastened upon 
deck, when, to our utter dismay, the same man sung out, " A 
fleet a-head !" We at once prepared to surrender ourselves 
prisoners of war, and secreted our valuable papers about our 
persons. Soon after, however, as the day advanced, he again 
cried out, to our inexpressible comfort, " A city a-head, with 
steeples, and no fleet." 

As the sun arose, we found ourselves nearing the coast of 
France ; spires and domes in prospect, and no 
st. a Mariin. hostile cruisers in the offing. A pilot came on 

board; and we soon dropped anchor, abreast 
of the walls of St. Martin, a city of the lie de She. Our 
waving stripes had attracted general attention ; and the ram- 
parts of the city, fronting the sea, were lined with citizens 
and soldiers. Our Consul, Mr. Craig, with several officers, 
came on board, our Captain and Major Knox receiving them 
in full rebel uniform. 



x 779-] Or y Memoirs of ETkanah Watson. 95 

We saw neither city nor port, until we approached the im- 
mense wall which guards the entrance of the harbor. Here 
making a sudden turn, we found ourselves in a 
fine artificial harbor, constructed of hewn stone, 
and crowded with vessels. "We mounted a flight of steps, and 
through an archway ascended the quay, which was thronged 
by the populace, to see, as I afterward understood, the 
North American savages ; for such was the idea entertained 
of us, by the mass of the French people. After a sail of 
twenty-nine days, I was standing on a quay in France. What 
a transition ! 

Our consul conducted us, to call upon the Governor, who 
resided in a splendid edifice, and who received us with great 
courtesy and respect ; and introduced us to several swarthy, 
black-eyed French ladies, with richly painted faces. For 
several hours, I could scarcely walk, awkwardly lifting up 
one foot, and waiting for the motion of the vessel ; and, when 
seated at the Governor's, it appeared as if the house was at 
sea. The refreshing fragrancy of the land soon restored my 
equilibrium, and dispelled from my mind the miseries of a 
floating prison, and the constant apprehension of a real one. 

We strolled through the city with Mr. Craig, gazed at by 
the crowd, and followed by boys, from street to street. My 
own entire thoughts and attention were absorbed by the 
novelties around me ; new faces, new objects, strange cus- 
toms and language. The clattering of wooden shoes along 
the pavement, the jackasses, young ladies astride of mules, 
cantering through the streets, and the appeals at every 
corner, " La Charite," — all were spectacles new and strange 
to my untravelled eye. At our consul's, we were feasted 
with delicious, fruits and dainties; being treated with that 
kind of politeness so characteristic of the French. Our des- 
tination had been Nantes ; but, as we had dispatches of the 
utmost importance to the French Government, and to our 



96 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1779. 

ambassador, Dr. Franklin, then at Passy, the Governor 
advised us to proceed by land. 

The Isle de Khe is a small island, nine miles by three, and 
is principally devoted to the grape culture, from which is 
made annually between twenty and thirty thousand tons of 
wine, and between three and four thousand pipes of brandy. 
It contains about twenty-two thousand inhabitants. The 
citadel forms a square of spacious buildings, constructed of 
hewn stone. In the centre of the parade of St. Martin, is a 
colossal statue of Louis XV., on horseback. Between thirty 
and forty thousand tons of dirty salt are manufactured on 
the island, from sea water, by evaporation. 

We found four mules at our consul's door, on which we 
mounted, and trotted briskly over the pavements of St. 
Martin, our ears constantly assailed with the cry of " Yoila 
les braves Bostones," (there go the brave Bostonians,) from 
the populace. The appellation of Bostonians, Mr. Craig in- 
formed me, is given generally, throughout France, to the 
American insurgents. The insurrection having commenced 
at Boston, they confound the whole nation with that city. 

We proceeded across the island, in the midst of vineyards 
of ripe grapes, hanging, in delicious clusters, to the very 
edge of the roads ; there being no fences or ditches inter- 
vening. The ferry is on the south side of the island. Our 
consul kindly accompanied us to Bochelle, six miles from St. 
Martin. Near the ferry, we viewed the vener- 
able old Fort La Prde, where the Duke of 
Buckingham was defeated, in 1627, after an unsuccessful 
attempt on Eochelle. 

We embarked on board of a long gabbone, with a half- 
deck, and about thirty passengers. Soon after embarking, 
we were attacked by a furious thunder-squall and tempest 
of rain, which drove us all, for shelter, under deck. The 
women screamed; the children squalled; and a Koman 



1 779.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 97 

Catholic priest, (an Irishman,) swore most furiously in 
English. After a passage of six miles across the bay, we 
doubled a point of land, and were at once in still water. 
The squall subsided, and all was well. Thus it often is in 
the scenes of real life. We passed two venerable castles 
at the entrance to the harbor. The news of the arrival of 
the " Bostones " at St. Martin, had preceded us ; and we 
were soon surrounded by a throng of people, anxious to see 
the new allies of France. Eochelle is a very old city. The 
streets are narrow and dirty. The houses are built of hewn 
stone, four and five stories high, with each story projecting 
over the other. The upper stories approach so near as to 
darken the narrow streets, and almost exclude the rays of 
the sun. I occupied my first French bed in this city, and 
was surprised to see the immense profusion of feathers, bed 
accumulated on bed. It was not without an effort, that I 
reached the soft summit. 

Eochelle was a strong-hold of the Huguenots of France, 
who here sustained a siege of thirteen months, against the 
whole power of Cardinal Eichelieu, in 1628. The Edict 
of Nantes, which had been granted by the great Henry, and 
conferred upon those Huguenots their civil immunities, was 
revoked by Louis XIV., in 1685. To this event, and the 
persecutions which preceded it, America was indebted for 
many valuable emigrants ; who, fleeing from oppression in 
the Old World, carried those sentiments of liberty to the 
New, which are now affording their full fruition. 

Early in the morning on the 6th of September we were 
stowed away, one before the other, in a vehicle of the most 
awkward and heavy construction. It was sup- 
ported on two wheels, almost as large as ox- postiiiion. ehicle ' 
cart wheels in America, and drawn by three 
horses abreast, one supporting the shaft. The postillion was 
mounted upon a little bidet, and wore monstrous boots, 
5 



98 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1779. 

hooped with iron. His hair was powdered and frizzed, with 
a long queue hanging down his shoulders. An old cocked 
hat, which had once been laced, and a short coatee, com- 
pleted his attire. Thus arranged and conducted, we rattled 
through the narrow streets of La Eochelle, and soon were 
galloping, for the first time, along his Most Christian Majes- 
ty's highway. The postillion, cracking his whip, merrily 
singing, and politely accosting all we met, seemed perfectly 
devoid of care. 

From La Eochelle to Nantes, is one hundred and five miles. 
In that distance, we exchanged horses nine times, making 
from six to fifteen miles each stage or relay. This region is 
the La Vendee, whose population was nearly 
exterminated by the civil war of the French 
Eevolution. A gentleman, who passed through the country 
a year after the war terminated, assured me, that the villages 
were literally without inhabitants; and that the unburied 
bodies of men and horses strewed the fields. We passed sev- 
eral villages, and two or three large towns, in our route. 

The country is occasionally hilly, with now and then a 
marsh on the seabord ; but, generally, it is a wide and beau- 
tiful champaign. We found the tavern affording very indif- 
ferent fare, with the exception of delicious fruit. Bach trav- 
eller, I noticed, was obliged to supply his own knife. 

The postillions have little mercy on their horses, rattling 
up hill and down, reckless of consequences. In going down 
rather a steep descent, at this rate, our shaft-horse fell with 
great violence, breaking one of the shafts, in the fall. The 
postillion, boots and all, was dragged down with him, and I 
was enabled to perceive the great advantage of this uncouth 
contrivance ; for he drew out his legs, perfectly uninjured, 
leaving his boots in the midst of the wreck. I was told, a 
pair of these boots, with the long spurs attached, weighs 
about thirty pounds. We were compelled to trudge on, 



1 779] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 99 

a foot. The afternoon, however, was delightful ; we were 
regaled, on the road, with the sweet music of birds, and we 
helped ourselves to the luscious grapes, clustering on the 
wayside. 

Our misfortune compelled us to stop at a miserable " au- 
berge," in the little village of Chantenay. Just as we were 
preparing for bed, several officers arrived. The landlord, 
soon rushing into our room in apparent agitation, addressed 
himself to the Major. The result was, that, although dark 
and raining, we must immediately proceed, or risk the 
chance of detention, as a Seigneur had sent an express to de- 
tain all the horses. There was no reasoning on the matter 
of right, as we do in America ; but yield we must, to his 
Excellency. My companions were inclined to submit to this 
dictation, and we decamped, leaving our beds to the officers. 

We heard no more of the Seigneur, till, some time after, 
we understood that these officers boasted how adroitly they 
had out-manoeuvred the American savages. 

The country, as we approached Nantes, was in a high state 
of improvement. The roads were adorned with venerable 
ornamental trees. We rode through the dirty 
streets of the suburbs, for a mile; and then 
the river and city suddenly burst upon our view, with the 
stone bridges over the Loire, and its branches, the shipping 
in the harbor, and a fleet of lighter vessels pressing up the 
river. We traversed a bridge near the Exchange, where I 
saw a crowd of merchants, collected under the shade of some 
beautiful trees. The same evening, I made an arrangement 
to proceed to Paris the succeeding morning, with my dis- 
patches, accompanied by an interpreter. 

September 9th. Left Nantes, and, in conformity with the 
usual custom in France, we supplied ourselves with provis- 
ions and wine for our journey. The carriages were so 
arranged as to enable the passengers to sleep with consider- 



100 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1779. 

able comfort, who are thus enabled to travel night and day. 
This custom probably originated, from the wretched accom- 
modations formerly found upon the road. 

The highways in France were every where patrolled, night 
and day, by numerous companies of armed horsemen. Rob- 
beries were, therefore, extremely uncommon; 
Horse Patrol : an( j even "baggage, and small articles left in the 

Safety in Trav- . °° p 7 

eliing. carriage over night, were comparatively secure. 

This immunity from petty thefts was owing, in 
a great degree, to the restraints imposed on the bigoted pop- 
ulace by their monthly confessionals. I was delighted, as 
we galloped through the city, with the appearance of the 
Loire, the bustle of active commerce, and the elegance of 
large white stone edifices, occupying the islands, which are 
embraced in the city, and situated on the public squares. 

Late in the evening, we reached Ancenis, a considerable 
town, of five thousand inhabitants, situated on the borders 

of the Loire. The next day, we passed over 
Angers? ' n ^ s > through vales, enlivened with numerous 

herds of fine cattle, and through many consid- 
erable villages, to the great city of Angers, containing a 
population of sixty thousand, who were engaged in extensive 
manufactures, especially that of sail-duck, for the royal navy. 
We travelled, the two succeeding days, two hundred and 
thirteen miles, and on the third at noon, September the 12th, 
I entered the city of Paris, the capital of the world, as the 
Parisians assert. The roads were excellent, ornamented, 
near the towns, with vistas of trees. From La Fleche to La 
Loupe, a distance of ninety miles, the country is generally 
hilly ; its principal productions are wheat and grapes. The 
pastures are luxuriant in the valleys, and animate with cattle ; 
while the eminences are whitened with coarse woolled sheep, 
of an inferior quality. 

From Dreux to Paris, a distance of fifty miles, the roads 



1779- ] Or •, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 101 

are paved. The country is beautiful and luxuriant. Ven- 
erable Eoman towers, Gothic cathedrals, noblemen's seats, 
and flourishing towns and villages, all conspired to give ani- 
mation and interest to our journey. Yet, the universal and 
disgusting prevalence of street-beggary was in strange and 
strong contrast, with all this magnificence and apparent pros- 
perity. Every village and town swarmed with 
vociferous beggars. Every hill seemed occu- 
pied with its droves of paupers and vagrants, ready to assail 
the traveller as he ascended it. I am astonished, that a people 
so full of expedients as the French, have not devised some 
system, to correct this burning shame to their national char- 
acter. At a small village which we passed in the afternoon, 
I found myself in the midst of a little host of dwarf beggars, 
in rags, and most loathsome in their appearance, all demand- 
ing, in a vociferous chorus, " La Charite, La Oharite ! au nom 
de Dieu !" and, with tattered hats and caps, pressing up to 
my very face. The labor of the field was per- 

« i i -i tit- Peasantry. 

formed by a degraded and ignorant peasantry, 

the tenants of the nobles and the clergy, who held two-thirds 

of the soil of France. 

At Versailles, the approach to which is distinguished by a 
highly cultivated country and delightful roads, 
we passed the magnificent palace of the king ; 
entered the public square, through a gate of the city ; changed 
horses ; and pushed forward to the capital. 

This, being the last stage, and in the track of royalty, was 
called the post-royal ; and, in consequence, we had to pay 
double fare, but were compensated by having a postillion 
dressed like a gentleman, with an un commonly long queue, 
and his hair frizzed and powdered, nay, perfumed. The 
road from Versailles to Paris, a distance of twelve miles, was 
superb, spacious, well-paved, ornamented with avenues of 
trees, and lighted with large lamps, suspended over the cen- 



102 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1779. 

tre of the road, with double reflectors, casting a strong light 
in both directions. The road was all anima- 
Parfs* 1 ™' tion, thronged with foot passengers, and with 

carriages of every description. We rode along 
the banks of the Seine, in approaching Paris, and were 
stopped at the barrier, and our baggage inspected. 

The first object which fixed my attention, was a statue of 
Louis XIV. Next, I was attracted by the superb royal gar- 
dens, the Tuileries, near which we crossed the river on the 
Pont Neuf, opposite the Louvre, and soon were landed at the 
Hotel d'York, Fauxbourg St. Germain. 

Immediately after shaking off the dust of travel, I pro- 
ceeded, with my dispatches, to Dr. Franklin, at 
Passy. I was delighted, to come in contact 
with this great man, of whom I had heard familiarly from 
my cradle.* 

At his request, I repaired to the Count De Vergennes, 
Prime Minister of France, with the dispatches, bearing a line 
of introduction from Dr. Franklin. I was re- 
Verffeimes. ceived by that accomplished statesman, with 
great civility. Having taken a bird's-eye view 
of the splendid palace and gardens of Versailles, I expressed 
a wish to the Count's Secretary, to see the royal family ; he 
accompanied me to the Royal Chapel, where they were about 
to engage in the performance of religious exercises. We en- 
tered the body of a middle-sized, but most magnificent 
church, by a door facing the gallery, in the midst of an au- 
dience, all standing. Soon after, the King and 
Queeu. nd Queen entered the gallery by a side door, and 

seated themselves in front, under a rich canopy. 
On their entrance, the music sounded, and High Mass forth- 



* His image is vividly impressed on my mind, and is well delineated in 
Trumbull's picture of the Declaration of Independence. (1820.) 



1 779.] Or , Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 103 

with, was performed. They both appeared absorbed in the 
religious solemnities. The King was somewhat robust, with 
a full face, Eoman nose, and placid countenance. The Queen 
had an elegant person, a fine figure, an imposing aspect, and 
florid complexion, with bright grey eyes, full of expression. 

The ensuing day, I returned to Passy, to dine, by invita- 
tion, with Dr. Franklin. At the hour of dinner, he conducted 
me, across a spacious garden of several acres, to the princely 
residence of M. Le Eav de Chaumoni* This was the first 
occasion of my dining in a private circle in Europe ; and, 
being still in my American style of dress, and ignorant of the 
French language, and prepared for extreme ceremony, I felt 
exceedingly embarrassed. 

We entered a spacious room ; I following the Doctor, where 
several well-dressed persons (to my unsophisticated American 
eyes, gentlemen) bowed to us profoundly. These were ser- 
vants. A folding- door opened at our approach, and presented 
to my view a brilliant assembly, who all greeted 
the wise old man, in the most cordial and affec- anTManne^ 
tionate manner. He introduced me as a young 
American, just arrived One of the young ladies approached 
him with the familiarity of a daughter, tapped him kindly 
on the cheek, and called him " Pa-pa Franklin." 

I was enraptured, with the ease and freedom exhibited in 
the table intercourse in France. Instead of the cold cere- 
mony and formal compliments, to which I had been accus- 
tomed on such occasions, here all appeared at ease, and well 
sustained. Some were amusing themselves with music; 
others, with singing. Some were waltzing ; and others gath- 
ered in little groups, in conversation. At the table, the 
ladies and gentlemen were mingled together, and joined in 

* The son of this opulent French gentleman, bearing his name, is now a 
distinguished citizen of Jefferson county, N". Y., and the patriotic President 
of its Agricultural Society. (1831.) 



104 Men and Times- of the Revolution; [1779- 

cheerful conversation, each, selecting the delicacies of various 
courses, and drinking of delicious light wines, but with 
neither toasts nor healths. The lady of the house, instead 
of bearing the burden and inconvenience of superintending 
the duties of the table, here participates alike with others in 
its enjoyment. No gentlemen, I was told, would be tolerated 
in France, in monopolizing the conversation of the table, with 
discussions of politics or religion, as is frequently the case in 
America. A cup of coffee ordinarily terminates the dinner. 

I trust, that our alliance and intercourse with France may 
enable us, as a nation, to shake off the leading-strings of 
Britain, — the English sternness and formality of manner : 
retaining, however, sufficient of their gravity, to produce, 
with French ease and elegance, a happy compound of na- 
tional character and manners, yet to be modelled. The in- 
fluence of this alliance will tend to remove the deep preju- 
dice against France. 

I remained at Paris fourteen days. Were I to detail all 
my adventures, the strange sights I saw, and my reflections 
in comparing the customs and aspect of France and America, 
I should occupy too much space. I shall condense, from the 
mass of my journals, a few remarks, illustrating my observa- 
tions during that interesting period. 

Paris then was about six miles in circumference, forming 
nearly a circle, and bisected by the Seine. It is happily 
situated in a temperate climate, and in the 
of the (f ty? S heart of a f erti l e country, richly cultivated. It 
has a water communication with the sea, by the 
canal of Orleans, and the river Loire. The Seine is navi- 
gable by large boats, to Havre-de-Grace on the British Chan- 
nel. The city is built of hewn stone ; and it contained about 
twenty-six thousand houses, from four to seven stories high, 
and eight hundred thousand inhabitants. At every entrance 
to the city, there was a gate, where carriages entering were 



1 779.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 105 

inspected. A guard of eight hundred Swiss, patrole the city, 
night and day. The police of Paris, was the 
astonishment of all Europe. Thefts are de- 
tected, and stolen goods recovered, in a manner that is in- 
credible. The late Chancellor Livingston informed me, that 
either himself or a friend lost a watch, and left its number 
and description with the police. It was restored to him by 
the police, after a delay of eight months, the watch having 
been traced to Rome. 

The manufactures of Paris were extensive. That of ta- 
pestry is unequalled in the world. The fabrics 
of Paris were generally of the lighter and more 
costly kinds ; as satins, velvets, ribbons, etc. This immense 
city, having no maritime commerce, derives most of its wealth 
and support from its political consequence. 

Having no business to occupy my time, during the few 
precious days whilst I was delayed for the dispatches to be 
conveyed to the " Mercury," which lay at Nantes awaiting 
them, I took in pay a respectable servant, dressed like a gentle- 
man, and also a carriage, in accordance with the custom of 
the place, and devoted every hour to the examination of 
objects of interest, in and about Paris. In the contemplation 
of these new and attractive scenes, I was constantly bewil- 
dered, in astonishment and admiration. 

The first morning after this arrangement, I found my re- 
ception room occupied by several men. I at once supposed 
them to be of the police ; and whilst I was ruminating, as to 
the probable occasion of the visit, a portly gentleman ad- 
vanced, and drawing a tailor's measure from his pocket, un- 
ravelled the mystery. They were mechanics, introduced by 
the agency of Monsieur Blanchard, my servant, who doubt- 
less participated in the contributions thus levied on my 
pockets. 

Among the public buildings, which I examined at Paris, 
5* 



106 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1779. 

with interest, the Louvre was conspicuous. It was erected by 
Louis XIV., and faces the Tuileries on one 
side, and the Seine at the Pont Neuf. It is a 
most magnificent pile of buildings, forming a large square. 

In a gallery of paintings in the Louvre, I was much grati- 
fied in perceiving the portrait of Franklin, near those of the 
King and Queen, placed there as a mark of distinguished re- 
spect, and, as was understood, in conformity with royal di- 
rections. Few foreigners have been presented to the Court 
of St. Cloud, who have acquired so much pop- 
Dr. Franklin's ularity and influence as Dr. Franklin. I have 
influence?" 1 seen the populace attend his carriage, in the 
manner they followed the King's. His vener- 
able figure, the ease of his manners, formed in an intercourse 
of fifty years with the world, his benevolent countenance, 
and his fame as a philosopher, all tended to excite love, and 
to command influence and respect. He had attained, by the 
exercise of these qualities, a powerful interest in the feelings 
of the beautiful Queen of France. She held, at that time, a 
powerful political influence. The exercise of that influence, 
adroitly directed by Franklin, tended to produce the ac- 
knowledgment of our Independence, and the subsequent effi- 
cient measures pursued by France in its support. 

The old Gothic Church of Notre Dame, is an object of 
great interest. It has braved the storms of 
nature, and the rage of wars, for centuries. It 
is about four hundred feet long. Its painted windows, of im- 
mense size, and the superb decoration of the altar, excited 
my profoundest admiration. A spacious gallery surrounds 
this noble edifice, supported by one hundred and eight fluted 
columns of marble. We ascended to the summit of one of 
the towers, where I had a commanding view of all Paris ; 
the vast population of the city, that thronged the streets, in 
all their pride, and pomp, seemed like the merest pigmies. 



1 779.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 107 

I carefully examined all the public edifices of Paris ; but 
they have been so often and so elaborately described, that I 
have concluded not to transcribe from my journals the mi- 
nute descriptions they contain. The " Hopital des Invalides" 
is an imposing structure, and deeply interests the benevolent 
feelings of the heart. It is one of the noblest monuments of 
the reign of " Louis le Grand." It occupies an open space 
fronting the Seine. One of the most splendid churches of 
Paris is devoted to the invalids. Several buildings, forming 
five squares, are appropriated to the soldiers ; and an equal 
number, of larger dimensions, to the officers. At this asylum, 
three thousand two hundred invalids were then quartered, 
in comfort and repose. I spent half a day in viewing superb 
paintings, commemorative of the wars and battles of Louis, 
and the beautiful marble ornaments, with the paintings in 
the dome of the church. The Sarbonne contains Cardinal 
Eichelieu's celebrated monument, representing him in a sit- 
ting posture, with figures, as large as life; one supporting 
him, and the other, reclining at his feet; executed in the 
most exquisite style, from a solid block of dark grey marble. 

The garden of the Tuileries is an extensive public prome- 
nade, or garden, laid out parallel with the river, and fronting 
the palace of the Tuileries. Next to the palace is situated a 
large flower-garden, embellished with small circular ponds, 
jets d'eau in full play, various statues of white marble, spa- 
cious gravel walks, and venerable forest trees, which afford a 
delightful resort to all Paris. 

I often attended the theatre. Having seen no other, I can 
make no comparisons. Dr. Franklin, however, assured me, 
that the English excel in tragedy, whilst the French surpass 
them in the opera, comedy, farce, and pantomime. The popu- 
lace of Paris could hardly exist, without the resource of the 
theatre, to beguile the long winter evenings. When I had 
become able to observe and understand the gross double en- 



108 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1779. 

tendres and shameful indecencies, which characterized their 
performances, I confess they shocked my American modesty ; 
and I wonder greatly, that a refined woman should permit 
herself to hear and witness such revolting spectacles. Cus- 
tom, however, disguises and tolerates all things. 

The " Palais Koyal," belonging to the Due de Chartres, of 
the Eoyal family, was but a mass of moral corruption. The 
magnificent garden was a public walk ; and the splendid gal- 
leries of paintings were the chief attractions. I saw one 
large piece, representing the Descent from the Cross, which 
an English nobleman offered to cover with guineas, as its 
price, and was refused by the Due. The Luxembourg was 
one of the most gorgeous and magnificent structures in Paris. 

At Marly, I examined the once favorite palace of Louis 
XIY. The walls were ornamented with the rich tapestry of 
the Gobelins, representing, in bright colors, the 
feats of Don Quixote. At this place was the 
complicated and heavy machinery for forcing the water of 
the Seine, up a hill, into an aqueduct, carrying it, seven hun- 
dred feet, over a valley, supported by thirty-nine arches, 
which conducts it towards Versailles. The gardens of Marly 
are very spacious, situated between two hills, the sides of 
which appear to be covered with natural shrubbery and 
groves. In these groves, as well as in the gardens, are cas- 
cades, fountains, and statues. The artificial cascades are very 
beautiful and magnificent. 

Having been invited to the wedding of Mr. Williams, our 

American Agent at Nantes, and, I think, the nephew of Dr. 

Franklin, which was to be celebrated at St. Germain, twelve 

miles from Paris, I proceeded to Passy on foot, 

St. Germain. j , i i i -i • 

to accompany the ambassador, on the occasion. 
He was entering his carriage in the court-yard, when I arrived ; 
and Mr. Williams and myself were supplied with saddle- 
horses from his stables. Our route led us by the Madrid 



1 779.] Or, Memoirs of MJcanah Watson. 109 

Palace, (the residence of Francis L, after his return from 
Spain,) and through, the beautiful forest of the "Bois de 
Boulogne." We crossed the Seine, by a fine stone bridge, 
and traversed a long stretch of woodland, where the king 
often hunts ; and, after ascending, by a paved road, a 
steep acclivity, from whence we commanded a most enchant- 
ing view, we reached the residence of Mr. Alexander, the 
father of the bride, at St. Germain. Here I dined with Dr. 
Franklin, the Mayor of Nantes, and other distinguished 
guests ; and, after dinner, visited the palace, long the resi- 
dence of James II., in his exile, and the favorite retreat of 
Louis XIV., as well as of the present royal family. The gar- 
dens are magnificent ; and the noblest promenade in Europe, 
probably, is on the grand terrace, upon the summit of the 
hill. The river Seine meanders at the base of the mountain. 
Five thousand acres of woodland spread along the valley, 
studded here and there with villages. Mr. Alexander was 
formerly an eminent banker in Scotland ; he is a man of dis- 
tinguished talents, and on terms of intimacy with Dr. Frank- 
lin. He was regarded, here, as a secret emissary of the 
British Government. 

The Sunday following, I again dined with Dr. Franklin, 
in a numerous mixed company of Americans, and literary 
and military men of France : all equally admiring this won- 
derful man, eminent, almost equally, as a statesman and a 
philosopher. 

After dinner, I proceeded, with the young gentlemen, to 
the highly celebrated gardens and palace of St. Cloud. They 
are near the Seine, and belonged to the Duke 
of Orleans. There were many fine paintings in 
the galleries; but my attention was more directed to the 
beautiful garden, filled with cascades, jets d'eau from the 
mouths of animals, throwing it even to the tops of the lofty 
elms; and the broad alleys, filled with gay assemblages. 



110 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1779. 

On our return to Paris, we passed the Elysian Fields, 
formed by four spacious avenues, through no- 

Elysian Fields. J * ' ., j . _ n & 

ble elms, and each, thronged with the giddy pop- 
ulation of Paris, embracing all ranks and conditions. Some 
were dancing in circles, indiscriminately mingled, to the mu- 
sic of the violin. Sunday was the heyday of French enjoy- 
ment ; a day of recreation and pleasure. In the morning, 
they devoutly attended Mass ; and they devoted the rest of 
the day to the theatre, ball, and every other species of amuse- 
ment.* 

In the suburbs of Paris, I was conducted into a subterranean 
labyrinth, the construction of which tradition imputes to the 
Eomans, in their labors to obtain stone for building purposes. 
I wandered two hours, by torch-light, in this deep and dark 
abyss. Brilliant and sparkling petrefactions hung, like icicles, 
from the roof and sides. 

Having received the dispatches for America, both from 
Dr. Franklin and the French Government, I proceeded, Sep- 
tember the 25th, 1779, on my return to Nantes, accompanied 
by my interpreter. By the advice of Dr. Franklin, I returned 
by the way of Orleans, along the banks of the Loire, which 
he represented to be the most interesting and charming route 
in Europe. 

The road from Paris to Orleans, a distance of ninety-four 

miles, was a continued pavement, formed with large blocks 

of stone. The country is generally level ; and, 

Pavecf Koad! nS ; no trees or bushes intercepting the prospect, 

our view extended as far as the eye could reach, 

over boundless vineyards and wheat fields. There being no 

* I have noticed a striking condescension and courtesy of the rich and 
powerful in France, in their intercourse with the lower classes. Sailors, 
soldiers, and servants, appear to be on the most familiar terms with their 
officers and masters! These manners, undoubtedly, are formed by the warm 
and benevolent feelings of the French people. 



1799-1 Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. Ill 

fences along the road, the grapes hung in delicious clusters 
within our reach, the whole day. This apparent liberality 
to the traveller, secures the interior of the vineyards from 
depredation. Would not the farmers of America be profited, 
by adopting this wise and benevolent policy, and planting 
fruit-trees along the margin of the roads ? 

Over this extensive prospect, we saw the vineyards every- 
where dotted with peasants, staggering under 
their loads of grapes, which they bear in large peasantry ' 
baskets upon their backs. The peasantry of 
France possess no property, and are but a little elevated 
above the condition of serfs. They live on "soup maigre," 
coarse black bread, and a small wine, about equal to cider. 
Yet, they are always cheerful ; and they sing and dance over 
the cares and troubles of life, with light hearts and half-filled 
stomachs. 

The forest of Orleans contains the largest territory occupied 
as woodland, in the kingdom. It embraces 
about fifteen thousand acres; and belongs to 
the Duke of Orleans, who, it is said, realizes about twenty 
thousand dollars annually, from the sale of decaying wood. 
We rode through a part of this forest, toward the close of 
the day ; and I felt myself almost restored to the woodlands 
of America. 

In France, wood is used for fuel, almost universally. The 
forests of the kingdom are under municipal 
regulation, so as to secure the growth of wood 
equal to the consumption, in that country. The cuttings of 
the vineyards in the autumn, afford a considerable supply 
of fuel to the peasantry. Even in this glowing and rich re- 
gion of France, I noticed the unmitigated prevalence of street 
beggars and vagrants. 

Near Orleans, at the small village of Pont Morant, com- 
mences the Orleans canal, which connects the Seine with the 



112 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1777. 

Loire, by a water communication of thirty miles. Its construc- 
tion began in 1675. It forms a junction with 
Canals; the Burgundy canal, near the town of Mont 

Languedoc. Garnis. The latter also connects the above 
mentioned rivers. In high water, fleets of large 
boats ascend the Loire from Nantes, and proceed, by the Or- 
leans canal, to Paris. Before seeing the canal, which was the 
first I ever examined, I had my attention turned by Dr. 
Franklin to the subject of the French canals. In relation to 
the great canal of Languedoc, which unites the Bay of Bis- 
cay with the Mediterranean, he informed me, that it was pro- 
jected by Kiquet, in 1661, and cost two millions of crowns. 
It is conveyed by aqueducts, over deep valleys ; and, in one 
place, is conducted along the side of a mountain, being sup- 
plied in its course by large reservoirs, constructed on the tops 
of the mountains. It passes, through one mountain, by an 
artificial tunnel of seven hundred and twenty feet. It is six 
hundred and thirty-nine feet high at the summit level, anc 
descends towards the Mediterranean by a flight of forty-five 
locks. Having derived immense benefit from this stupen- 
dous work, the government, (Dr. Franklin informed me,) hac 
in contemplation the construction of other similar works, at 
the close of the war. 

Orleans was a large city, containing many elegant public 
and private buildings ; but its streets were filthy, badly paved, 
and narrow. It was the great emporium of 
East and West India goods, and of wheat, wine, 
and brandy, for the Paris market. The principal manufac- 
tures of the city, are silk and woollen goods, and leather. 
Here occurred the wonderful events that render illustrious the 
name of the Maid of Orleans. A monument, erected to her 
memory, occupies one of the public squares in this city, and 
bears an enthusiastic inscription. 

Between Orleans and Blois, a distance of forty miles, the 



I779-] Or, Memoirs of ETkanah Watson. 113 

country is elevated and level. Occasionally, a beautiful 
view of the Loire, gemmed with its numerous islands, was 
displayed. The whole region was a continuous vineyard, 
whence legions of peasantry, old and young, male and fe- 
male, were issuing, bearing their delicious burdens. 

Blois is a celebrated and venerable city, standing on both 
banks of the Loire. It then was extensively engaged in silk 
manufacture, and the exportation to Nantes of 
wines and brandies. In the evening, the city nomination, 
was brilliantly illuminated, on account of the 
capture of Grenada by Count d'Estaing. Whilst detained at 
the door of the post-house, my interpreter dropped a hint to 
some of the bystanders, that I was a young " Bostone," just 
arrived from North America. In a few moments, I was sur- 
rounded by a crowd, gazing at me with great interest : so 
strong and universal was the feeling in Prance, excited by 
our Ee volution. Some young women brought baskets loaded 
with delicious fruit, which they pressed upon me. After re- 
maining at Blois, part of the evening, to witness the illumi- 
nation, we started by a bright moonlight, and, in conformity 
to general custom, determined to travel all night. In addi- 
tion to the fruit with which the kind girls had supplied us, 
we provided a few stores, and entered on the famous cause- 
way (levee). We galloped the whole night along this won- 
derful artificial road, which is elevated from 
fifteen to thirty feet above the level of the Gateway, 
adjacent meadows and river. It is designed for 
two carriages to go abreast; and extends one hundred and 
fifty miles parallel to the Loire, and on its very banks. On 
our right, we could see, by the bright moonlight, a valley of 
from half a mile to two miles wide, bounded by a range of un- 
dulating hills, their sides bespangled with lights from the 
cottages, cultivated with wheat, and interspersed with vine- 
yards. The valleys are devoted to flax, hemp, and meadows. 



114 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1779. 

Nothing could be more delightful, than this journeying by 
moonlight, in a serene night. It was far more interesting 

than by day, although we were deprived of 2 
Travelling. y * ew °^ di stant objects. A large glass in front 

of our carriage, and two side glasses, afforded 
every convenience for observation. We often saw whole 
fleets of loaded shallops, with their broad sails, ascending tta 
river, before a light breeze, and half concealed by the mist 
The moon, at the same time, shedding its quivering light on 
the surface of the river, the exhalations on the land obscur 
ing our prospect, and rendering the objects indistinct, pro 
duced a pleasing and complicated scenery. 

About six miles from the large city of Tours, I was sur- 
prised, to see smoke issuing from the tops and sides of a chain 
of rocky hills, running parallel to the road, and people issu- 
ing from doors at their base. Curiosity compelled me to stop 
and examine the mystery. We were conducted into the 
body of the hills, in several places, and found many apart- 
ments handsomely furnished ; and, in one instance, a church 
hewn out of the soft freestone. In some places, we noticed 
rooms cut out of the hard rock. We were informed, that the 
excavations extended, seven miles. Popular tradition as 

cribes this stupendous work to the Eomans, 
Tours" Angers. w ^°> ^ ^ s supposed, constructed it as a depot, 

and a refuge, if required. We remained at 
Tours, only to provide a relay, and hurried along vine-clad 
hills, through villages, and in sight of venerable fortresses, 
ancient towns, and noblemen's seats, to Angers. There 
found several gentlemen from Boston, acquiring the French 
language, and moving in the best circles. I reached Nantes, 
on the 28th of September, and delivered my dispatches on 
board the " Mercury," which had been detained for them. 

I determined to establish, in that city, a mercantile house, 
although sustained by few advantages, either of connection 



J 7790 Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 115 

or capital, and almost ignorant of the French language. I 
invested the funds which had been intrusted to me, in goods, 
and purchased an equal amount on my own credit, and was 
fortunate. The result was propitious. I also transmitted 
circulars to all the ports in America, in which I had formed 
personal acquaintances. Thus commenced my commercial 
career, which, in three years, enabled me to rear up an es- 
tablishment, equal to any in the city, for respectability, and 
known throughout America and in Europe on account of the 
extent of our operations. 



ly L L 31111! 

' If Id 




> LOSSINC-Bf*** 



Introduction to Franklin in Wax. Page 142. 



CHAPTER Y. 



Ancenis. 



I determined, on my recovery from a severe illness, in 
which, for many days, I had trembled upon the verge of 
eternity, to devote the winter to the study of the French 
language ; and for that purpose connected my- 
self with the college at Ancenis, twenty -four 
miles from Nantes. My letters gave me ready access to the 
first society of the city ; and, in consequence, afforded me an 
excellent opportunity of becoming acquainted with the man- 
ners and customs of the people. 

I arrived at the college late in the night, and retired to 
my room, without even having an interview with the Presi- 
dent. At an early hour, a professor entered my apartments, 
and commenced his first lesson in French. I was then con- 



1780.] Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 117 

ducted to the Kefectory, where we had an excellent break- 
fast on bread and butter, white wine, meat, and onions. I 
was placed next to the officers. They all crossed themselves, 
and regarded me, doubtless, as a forlorn heretic. The pro- 
fessors and students were unremitting, in their efforts to pro- 
mote my progress and comfort. In a few weeks, I found 
myself rapidly advancing in the attainment of the language. 
A room, board, tuition, and washing, were supplied me, at an 
annual charge of only about a hundred and fifty dollars. 

On my first arrival in France, the public mind was highly 
elated with the belief, that a combined French and Spanish 
fleet of seventy-six sail, under M. d'Orvillier, was blockad- 
ing the British fleet in Plymouth, and that sixty thousand 
troops had assembled in the vicinity of Havre, to co-operate 
with the fleet, in the invasion of England. Under all these 
favorable aspects, no one doubted, that the 
British fleet, at least, would be annihilated. E n V gTand.° f 
But, alas ! the Ardent, of sixty-four guns, was 
captured ; and the combined fleet returned into Brest, with 
eight thousand of their crews sick. I confess, my spirit of 
retaliation was gratified, in noticing, in the English papers, 
accounts of the alarm excited by these movements on the 
coast of England, and of the inhabitants' seeking security in 
the interior. Such spectacles of distress I had often witnessed 
in America, when the people were fleeing from the violence 
and cruelty of England's hireling armies. I formerly sup- 
posed, that we attached too much importance to our Eevolu- 
tion, in considering it the cause of man, and 
that it was preparing an asylum for the op- Importance of 
pressed and persecuted of all nations ; but the Revolution, 
more I reflect, and the more I regard the opin- 
ions of older heads, the stronger my conviction becomes, of 
the truth of this solemn and animating thought. For two 
centuries, an ineffectual struggle has been maintained, to 



118 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1780. 

fasten upon some corner of Europe the principles of liberty ; 
but the bayonets of a million of mercenaries have secured 
the thrones of European despots. Freedom, established and 
maintained in America, in a more liberal age, may diffuse 
her influence over Europe. 

England has fairly rocked us out of her cradle, a sleeping 
infant; she may soon find us an armed giant. Should I live 
to the age prescribed to man, I have no doubt that I shall 
witness America standing in the first rank among the nations 
of the earth. Many of my countrymen dread the magnitude 
of the debt, the price of our independence. When, however, 
we cast our eyes upon the vast regions of the exuberant in- 
terior, that debt will dwindle into a shadow, compared with 
the avails of the millions of fertile acres, which have never 
yet been disturbed by a plough. 

I accompanied our good Abbe, to witness a country wed- 
ding. We entered the cottage, at the verge of evening, and 
found the wooden-shoe gentry collected, merrily dancing, and 
singing as a substitute for the violin, with light 
Weddmg. hearts and heavy heels. The Abbe and myself 

soon figured in the dancing circle, composed of 
old and young, indiscriminately mixed. Madame bride, in 
her sabots, or wooden shoes, was only distinguished by a 
bouquet, which her swain, in great gallantry, placed over her 
heart. Their manner of dancing is much like that of the 
Indians of America, but more animated. We stamped 
around, hand-and-hand, all singing a dancing tune, advanc- 
ing and retiring, and, at the close of every cadence, giving a 
general yell, their wooden shoes clattering the while in con- 
cert. 

After the dancing, I was surrounded by the whole group, 
when they heard I was a "Bostone ;" but, they were greatly 
astonished, that although I had a head and tongue like their 
own, I could not speak French. The bridegroom led the 



1780.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. m 119 

bride through the crowd, and introduced her with "Voila 
ma femme." I gave her a hearty American smack, which 
excited a shout of merriment from all, at finding, although 
dumb, I was not insensible ; and they soon learned that, in 
the discussion of their rustic viands, I could play a game of 
the knife and fork with the best of them. We remained, 
dancing and laughing, until midnight, as much amused as if 
I had spent the night in a "bon ton" circle at Versailles. 
Indeed, while dancing, I could not refrain from the mental 
inquiry, Are not these humble and illiterate peasants to be 
envied rather than pitied? Philosophy would not hesitate 
to decide. If happiness depends upon freeness from care and 
buoyancy of heart, the French peasantry have 
the advantage of every other race. Ambition peasantry, 
they have none; they aspire to nothing but 
what they possess : their cottage, their wives, and children, 
black bread, and the " petit vin du pays." The ignorance 
and degradation of the peasants of France, deprived of the 
rights of freehold property, shut out from rank in the army 
and navy, living on the coarsest fare, and the mere slaves of a 
proud noblesse and corrupt clergy, must strike every liberal 
mind, as the worst political feature of the institutions of 
France* 



* (1821.) Since that day, a revolution has passed over France, like a del- 
uge of blood and woe, directed by the destroying angel, involving in one 
common ruin the Royal family, the Noblesse, and the Clergy. The dynasty 
of the Bourbons has been again imposed on France, by foreign bayonets. 
Still, great good has resulted from the misery and violence of the Revolu- 
tion. The throne is restricted, the nobility are humbled, the clergy are cur- 
tailed in their power and wealth, and the peasantry are elevated in their 
condition, and secured in their privileges. The light of education, to some 
extent, is diffused among them ; they can become owners of the soil they 
till, and the liberal professions are opened to them. Who shall pronounce, 
that the bloody ordeal of the Revolution has not left France elevated and 
improved? 



120 - Men and Times of the Revolution. [1780, 

I have frequently observed, in private genteel circles, some 

one of tlie gentlemen playing on the violin, to 
Musical Taste. , . ! P , , . \ ' -/ . ° „,v V 

a dancing circle, nimseli being one 01 the danc- 
ers ; but I was truly delighted to see, near Ancenis, an ele- 
gant young lady take up a violin and play to admiration, 
whilst she performed most gracefully in the dance. Almost 
every Frenchman is an adept in playing on some musical in- 
strument. 

In my wanderings about the country, a friend conducted 
me, on one occasion, to the cottage of a peasant, who sup- 
ported a family of seven persons, on his wages of only twelve 
sous (equal to twelve cents) per diem, and paid to his majesty 
twenty livres (four dollars) a year. They subsist on black 
bread and vegetables ; and, at carnival, once a year, enjoy a 
small portion of meat. Yet, content and happiness marked 
the features of all. 

Whilst at Ancenis, I witnessed the ceremony of taking 

the veil. The ceremony, and my own feelings 

in witnessing it, will be exhibited, in the fol 
lowing extract from a letter, written at the time, to my sister 
in America : — 

" I was an eye-witness of a very solemn ceremony at the Convent, 
yesterday : the admission of a nun. I was admitted into the chapel, 
with many spectators, the parents and brothers of the girl among the 
number. In an adjoining gloomy, dark room, with a heavy arch, I 
saw, through ponderous gratings, forty-three nuns, ranged in lines, each 
holding a lighted torch, and singing an anthem, that echoed through 
the vaulted rooms. 

"After prayer, mass, etc., a new pupil, — a fresh, beautiful young 
lady, — came into the same apartment with the nuns, dressed in the 
most gaudy, fashionable style. The grating then rolled away by some 
invisible machinery, and the young lady was interrogated by a priest, 
if she wished to renounce the world, and devote herself to Christ and 
the Blessed Virgin. She replied in the affirmative, and instantly disap- 
peared. She soon after re-appeared, disrobed of her worldly habili- 



*78o.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 121 

ments, and dressed in the simple garb of a nun. She then made her 
solemn vows, and was admitted on probation. 

" Her sister then presented herelf in the dress of a nun, before the 
awful tribunal, having completed her probationary year, to take the 
vows for life. It was her choice ; and her parents, with a crowd of 
relations, signed their approbation, which was witnessed on the records 
of the Convent, by myself with others. My God ! is it possible ! The 
unnatural approbation of a father and mother, to the burial of two 
charming daughters, in this gloomy retreat, is a violation of the laws 
of God and nature. After the performance of many religious rites, 
the latter extended herself in the midst of the chapel, flat upon her face, 
and was then covered by two of the nuns, with a black pall, as if ab- 
solutely dead. In this position she remained half an hour, whilst the 
nuns addressed hymns to the Virgin Mary, recommending the new 
sister to her beneficence. She was then covered with a black veil, and 
led to the priest at the grating, where, bathed in tears, she took leave 
of her parents, and then the grating closed upon her, — ' the world for- 
getting, by the world forgot.' I found my sensibility severely tried, by 
this affecting and novel scene. In a word, I was most solemnly 
amused. A deep silence succeeded the ceremony, like the stillness of 
the grave." 

I addressed a letter, whilst in Ancenis, to John Adams, at 
Paris, who had returned from America, requesting his advice 
and direction, in regard to my movements and course whilst 
in Europe. I soon received a reply, which is subjoined, and 
which was the commencement of a long confi- 
dential intercourse, both personal and by letter, johnAdams. 
extending over a period of more than half a 
century, marked, on his part, with the warmest kindness and 
cordiality, and on mine, with the deerjest veneration for his 
character and devoted patriotism. 



"Paris, Hotel de Valois, Kite de Kichelieu, 

" April S0t7i, 1780. 
" Sir :— 

"Your letter of the 16th March I received yesterday. Your 

family T know well to be one of the most respectable in the county of 
Plymouth. Your father I had the honor to know well. 
6 



122 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1780. 

********* 
I know, too, that in ancient times, (for I must speak to you like an old 
man,) when the friends to the American cause were not so numerous, 
nor so determined, as they are now, we always found your father firm 
and consistent as a friend to his country. This I knew, for more than 
ten years before the war commenced, and, therefore, I have no diffi- 
culty in believing that he has been, since that period, uniformly stren- 
uous in support of Independence. 

" You tell me, Sir, you wish to cultivate your manners before you 
begin your travels ; and, since you have had so much confidence in 
me, as to write me on this occasion, permit me to take the liberty of 
advising you to cultivate the manners of your own country, not those 
of Europe. I don't mean by this, that you should put on a long face, 
never dance with the ladies, go to a play, or take a game of cards. 
But you may depend upon this : the more decisively you adhere to a 
manly simplicity, in your dress, equipage, and behavior, the more you 
will devote yourself to business and study, and the less to dissipation 
and pleasure ; the more you will recommend yourself to every man 
and woman in this country, whose friendship and acquaintance are 
worth your gaining or wishing. There is an urbanity without osten- 
tation or extravagance, which will succeed everywhere, and at all 
times. 

" You will excuse this freedom, on account of my friendship for your 
father, and consequently for you, and because I know that some young 
gentlemen have come to Europe with different sentiments, and conse- 
quently injured the character of their country, at home and abroad. 

" All Europe knows, that it was American manners which have pro- 
duced such great effects in that young and tender country. I shall be 
happy to meet you in Paris, and receive any intelligence from Ame- 
rica. 

" I am, etc., 

"JOHN ADAMS. 

"Mr. Elkanah Watson, Anoknis." 

In September, 1780, I accompanied my former ship-captain, 
Sampson, to Paris, by the road I travelled on a former occa- 
sion. We noticed, near Paris, a novel mode of hunting. 
The Count d'Artois, with several royal bloods, 

EoySltoS. 5 we saw ridin § leisurel y alon & u P on the neigh- 
boring hills, whilst a concourse of people were 



1 780. J Or j Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 123 

tracing the woods, and a line of soldiers firing away with as 
much eagerness as if in pursuit of an enemy in ambush, in- 
stead of shooting hares and partridges, starting up on every 
side. I observed formerly, that partridges were almost as 
tame as domestic fowls, in the vicinity of Paris. The galleys 
are the doom of any persons, except those of the blood royal, 
who shoots one, even on the highway. Blessed America I 
there we know no nobles but the nobles of nature. 

The winter of 1780-81 I passed in the city of Eennes, per- 
fecting myself in my French. It contained a 
population of about sixty thousand. As I was ■ y ° 
the first American who had visited Eennes, the popular curi- 
osity to see me was inconceivable ; and I was subsequently 
assured, by the most intelligent and refined circles, that they 
had difficulty in detaching the idea of a savage from a North 
American. I had repeatedly noticed the prevalence of this 
ignorance, in France, of the condition of America, and the 
character of Americans. When I went to Ancenis, I arrived 
at the college at night, and retired to my room without hav- 
ing an interview with the officers. Early in the morning, 
many of the students entered my room ; and, supposing me 
asleep, cautiously, one after another, approached my bed, 
and drawing aside the curtain, gazed at me. I afterward 
understood, that, hearing an American had arrived at the Col- 
lege, an impression at once prevailed that I was an American 
Indian. The lady of the Procureur of Eennes frankly said 
to me, that she was greatly surprised when I was introduced 
to her, as she had supposed the North Americans to be " une 
esp&ce de sauvage." 

Eennes was the capital of Brittany, and the seat of • the 
Provincial Parliament. Brittany having been united by 
treaty to France, retained higher privileges, guaranteed in its 
cession, than any other province of France. The Parliament 
was elected by the people, and alone had the power of levy- 



124 Men and Times of the Revolution ; [1780. 

ing taxes. The King made his requisition, which may, or 
may not, have been registered by the Parliament. Brittany 
was exempt from a duty on salt, which was a most oppressive 
burden in the adjacent provinces. The Loire divides Poitou 
from Brittany. Any man, convicted of smuggling the small- 
est quantity of salt across the river, was doomed to the gal- 
leys for life. 

I frequently listened to the debate in the Parliament, and 
was astonished to hear with what freedom the Eepresenta- 
tives discussed subjects of politics. 

I was on familiar terms, at Eennes, with several young 

gentlemen, law students, who were pursuing their professional 

studies. I met the celebrated General Moreau, 

General Moreau. ni n n 

many years afterward, m JN ew- Y ork ; and was 
surprised to find, that he was one of the number, and recol- 
lected the circumstance of seeing me at Eennes. 

A new game of cards had been introduced into the fash- 
ionable circles at Eennes, which they called Boston. I soon 
perceived, that a determined spirit of gambling entered into 
their purposes; a rock which I have always shunned. I 
was hard pressed by a veteran devotee of the art, to be her 
partner. I protested, in vain, my ignorance of cards, and 
soon convinced her, to our mutual loss, of the sincerity of 
my protestation. She very willingly gave me up, as bad 
game. 

Eennes was a very dissipated place, but distinguished for 
the correctness of its French idiom. My object in selecting 
it, was to attain the language in its purity, and to rub off my 
American rust, by a near connection with the polished so- 
ciety of France. The gentleness and elegance 
Cu^oms. and of French manners can only be attained, I am 
persuaded, by a French domestic education. 
The ease and the blandishment of their manners, are, no 
doubt, chiefly attributable to the gentleness and familiarity 



1780.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 125 

which mark the intercourse between children and parents. 
They are, at home, the joyous, laughing, and dancing com- 
panions of each other. I have, more than once, seen grand- 
mothers dancing in the same circle with grandchildren. In 
America, children are too often treated with an austerity and 
a reserve, that close the door to social intercourse. Schools 
for manners are thus enjoyed in France, from the cradle. 
To be graceful, is an essential in France, from the prince to 
the postillion. 

The death of the Queen of Hungary, had blackened all 
France and Germany. As soon as I had supplied myself 
with mourning, in compliance with an arbitrary custom, I 
was conducted, by a French colonel, to offer my respects to 
the Marshal de Biron, Governor of the Province. We were 
admitted, by the guards, into an elegant palace, 
and entered an extensive circle of dukes, gov- d^Bixon. 

ernors, bishops, officers, etc. ; and among them 
the distinguished Admiral La Motte Piquet, who had just 
returned from a successful cruise. We were received with 
marked attention and civility. I observed, during this levee, 
that no persons, except bishops, presumed to be seated. We 
accepted an invitation to dine with the Marshal ; and, in a 
few moments after our entrance, a folding-door opened on one 
side of the salon d'audience, and the Duchess, accompanied 
by her maids of honor, and other ladies, appeared. Her long 
dress trailed behind her, the extremity being supported by 
two little black boys. I was introduced, by the Governor of 
of Belle He, to the Duchess. The etiquette was, to advance 
a few steps, with chapeau-bras under the left arm, and make a 
profound bow. A long sword at the side, was an indispen- 
sable article of dress, in fashionable society. 

Immediately, on her appearance, another folding-door on 
the opposite side flew open. After mutual salutation be- 
tween the ladies and gentlemen, the Duchess continued her 



126 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1780. 

progress, followed by the company, through several apart- 
ments, one of which was occupied by the life-guard of the 
Marshal. I was amused, at noticing the tactics acquired by 
the ladies, in passing their court-dresses through the doors. 
The gentlemen in escort fall back, and the ladies, by a dex- 
terous cant of the hoop, sidewise, effect the passage. We 
entered a spacious dining hall, cheered by an elegant Italian 
band of music. The Governor of Belle lie 
Dinner-party. was placed at the right of the Marshal, the 
Governor of Kennes on his left, and myself 
next to the former. The splendor, elegance, and taste of the 
occasion, far surpassed any thing I had ever witnessed ; and 
both astonished and delighted me. As I have uniformly re- 
marked, the ladies were intermixed at the table, and fully 
participated in the table conversation, on every subject. We 
were about forty at table ; the knives, forks, dishes, tureens, 
etc., all were of massive silver. At least forty different 
dishes were served up, in successive courses, and all on silver 
utensils. In the midst of the table, was arranged a large and 
beautiful representation of a flower-garden, in miniature, with 
Liliputian statues, flowers, grottos, artificial cascades, etc. 

By a spontaneous movement, we left the table, and passed 
into a magnificent adjoining. hall, where we received a cup of 
strong coffee, and were again delighted with the music of the 
band. Madame was marked in her attention to me; and 
plied me with delicious dishes, by the hands of a little pet 
black boy, always at her elbow. This hall commanded the 
view of a delightful garden, into which we strolled, each 
directed in his movements and occupations by his own tastes. 
We were again charmed with the music of nature, from an 
aviary in the vicinity. We returned to the hall indiscrimi- 
nately ; and such as were disposed took themselves off, or, in 
other words, took "French leave," without ceremony. This 
is an excellent custom, which I trust will be interwoven with 



1780.] Or, Memoirs of Mkanah Watson. 127 «* 

our improved system of American manners ; they are now 
too frigid, formal, and awkward, — an inheritance derived 
from our English progenitors. 

On my return to Nantes, I was half French in every thing, 
save the graces ; these, I fear, I never shall possess. They 
must grow with your growth, for they never can be wooed 
as a fair lady. 

About this period, the notorious Tom Paine arrived at 
Nantes, in the Alliance frigate, as Secretary of Colonel Lau- 
rens, Minister Extraordinary from Congress ; and he took up 
his quarters at my boarding-place. He was 

A ±d - v l + v Tom Paine. 

coarse and uncouth m his manners, loathsome 
in his appearance, and a disgusting egotist; rejoicing most in 
talking of himself, and reading the effusions of his own mind. 
Yet, I could not repress the deepest emotions of gratitude to- 
ward him, as the instrument of Providence in accelerating 
the declaration of our Independence. He certainly was a 
prominent agent, in preparing the public sentiment of Amer- 
ica for that glorious event. The idea of Independence had 
not occupied the popular mind; and, when guardedly ap- 
proached on the topic, it shrunk from the conception, as 
fraught with doubt, with peril, and with suffering. 

In '75 or 76, I was present, at Providence, Ehode Island, 
in a social assembly of most of the prominent leaders of the 
State. I recollect, that the subject of independence was cau- 
tiously introduced by an ardent Whig; and the thought 
seemed to excite the abhorrence of the whole circle. 

A few weeks after, Paine's Common Sense appeared, and 
passed through the continent, like an electric spark. It 
everywhere flashed conviction; and aroused a determined 
spirit, which resulted in the Declaration of Independence, upon 
the 4th of July ensuing. The name of Paine was precious 
to every Whig heart, and had resounded throughout Europe. 

On his arrival's being announced, the Mayor, and some of 



128 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1781. 

the most distinguished citizens of Nantes, called upon him, 
to render their homage of respect. I often officiated as inter- 
preter, although humbled and mortified at his filthy appear- 
ance, and awkward address. Besides, as he had been roasted 

alive at L'Orient, for the , and well basted 

someness." w ^^ brimstone, he was absolutely offensive, and 

perfumed the whole apartment. He was soon 
rid of his respectable visitors, who left the room with marks 
of astonishment and disgust. I took the liberty, on his asking 
for the loan of a clean shirt, of speaking to him frankly of 
his dirty appearance and brimstone odor ; and I prevailed 
upon him to stew, for an hour, in a hot bath. This, however, 
was not done without much entreaty ; and I did not succeed, 
until, receiving a file of English newspapers, I promised, after 
he was in the bath he should have the reading of them, and 
not before. He at once consented, and accompanied me to 
the bath, where I instructed the keeper, in French, (which 
Paine did not understand,) gradually to increase the heat of 
the water, until "le Monsieur serait bien bouilli.'' He be- 
came so much absorbed in his reading, that he was nearly 
par-boiled before leaving the bath, much to his improvement 
and my satisfaction. 

One of the most critical and remarkable events of my life 
occurred, in the month of March, 1781. The Marshal de 
Castries, Minister of Marine, was passing through Nantes, 
on his way to Brest, for the purpose of dispatching the Count 
de Grasse with the fleet, which subsequently acted with so 
much efficiency against Cornwallis. 

Half the population of the city, prompted by their curiosity, 
poured, in a torrent, beyond the gates, to meet the Marshal 
and his retinue. I threw myself into this living current. As 
soon as the " avant courier" appeared in the distance, the im- 
mense crowd paraded on either side of the road. At the 
moment the minister and his retinue approached, a little bell 



1781.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 129 

tinkled, on the opposite side, in directing the passage of the 
"Bon Dieu," enclosed in a silver vase, and held by a Catho- 
lic priest, on his way to administer the Sacra- 
ment to a dying believer. The bell was held j^^^ 1 ^ 
by a small boy, who preceded the sacred pro- 
cession ; four men supported a canopy over the priest's head, 
and forty or fifty stupid peasants, in wooden shoes, followed. 

Custom obliged all to kneel, as this venerated "Bon Dieu" 
passed by ; but, on this occasion, most of the spectators, ow- 
ing to the deep mud, leaned on their canes, with hats in their 
hands, in a respectful posture. The couriers checked their 
horses ; the carriages stopped ; and all were thrown into con- 
fusion by the unfortunate presence of the " Bon Dieu." At 
this moment, the priest, as if impelled by the spirit of malice, 
halted the procession, and stopped the host directly in front 
of the place where I stood ; and, to my utter amazement, 
pointing directly at me with his finger, exclaimed, "Aux 
genoux," (upon your knees). I pointed, in vain, to the mud, 
and the position of those about me similar to my own. He 
again repeated, in a voice of thunder, " Aux genoux." My 
Yankee blood flamed at this wanton attack ; I forgot myself; 
and with a loud voice, replied in French, " No Sir, I will 
not." The populace thunderstruck to see their "Bon Dieu" 
thus insulted, fired with fanaticism, broke their ranks, and 
were pressing toward me, with violent imprecations. A 
German gentleman, an acquaintance, and then at my side, 
exclaimed to me, " For God's sake, drop in an instant." 
Alarmed at my critical situation, I reluctantly settled my 
knees into a mud-puddle. Every one within my hearing, 
who was respectable, Catholic or Protestant, condemned the 
rash and inexcusable conduct of the priest. 

My keenest sensibilities were outraged ; and I vowed ven- 
geance upon the audacious priest. The next afternoon, I set 
off, armed with a good hickory, to trace out his residence, and 



130 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1781. 

to effect my determination. I proceeded to the spot where the 
offence had been committed, entered the hut of a peasant, and 
inquired the name of the priest who, the day before, had 
passed with the " Bon Dieu." He replied, " Ma foi, oui, c'est 
Monsieur Barage," (yes, faith, it is M. Barage.) He pointed 
to the steeple of the church where he officiated, near the sub- 
urbs of the city. I soon found his house, and pulled a bell- 
rope. A good-looking, middle-aged woman, the housekeeper, 
soon appeared. Contrary to her interdiction, I sprung into 
the court-yard, proceeded directly to the house, and made my 
way to his library. The priest soon appeared, demanded my 
business, exclaiming, that I was a " murderer or robber," and 
ordered me to quit his house. I sprung to the door, locked 
it, and, placing the key in my pocket, approached him in a 
hostile attitude. I compelled him to admit, that he recog- 
nized my features. I then poured forth my detestation of 
him, and the tyranny of the French clergy. I 

a pS With told bim > * was a nati ^ e of North America, the 
ally of France ; that I was under the protec- 
tion of Dr. Franklin, and would not leave him, until I had 
received adequate remuneration for the unprovoked insult I 
had received. In a word, I insisted upon his apologizing to 
me, in the same posture in which I had been placed. In tak- 
ing my leave, I assured him I should proceed, with the 
American Consul, and enter my formal complaint against 
him to the Bishop. This threat alarmed him ; and he fer- 
vently urged my forbearance. I went, however, immediately 
to our Consul, Colonel Williams, and communicated to him 
these incidents. He apprised me of the extreme danger I 
should be subjected to from the hostility of the priests, and 
admonished me, as the safest course, to prosecute the affair 
no further. 

By his advice, and also that of Tom Paine, I changed my 
lodgings, and, for two or three weeks, I avoided the streets. 



1781.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 131 

No further unpleasant consequence resulted from this extra- 
ordinary occurrence.* 

Although I escaped with impunity, on this occasion, it is 
far from my wish to inculcate a spirit of opposition to estab- 
lished forms of religion, in any country. It is, at best, a dan- 
gerous business, and one treads among thorns and pit-falls. 

During my residence at Nantes, I became intimately ac- 
quainted with one of the most remarkable characters of the 
age. Louis Littlepagef arrived at Nantes, in the winter of 
1779-80, on his way to Madrid, under the pe- 
culiar patronage of Mr. Jay, our stern and able Littiepage. 
'ambassador at the court of Spain. He was 
then a mere youth, of a fine manly figure, with a dark, pene- 
trating black eye, and a physiognomy peculiar and striking. 
At that early period, he was esteemed a prodigy of genius 
and acquirements. When I again heard of him, he had sepa- 
rated himself from Mr. Jay's family, and entered as a volun- 
teer and aid to the Due de Orellon, at the siege of Minorca. 
At the attack on Gibraltar, he was on board of one of the 
floating batteries, and was blown up, but saved. Young 

* I have repeatedly heard the late Colonel Elisha Jenkins, of Albany, for- 
merly Comptroller of the State, who was in Nantes, soon after the occur- 
rence of the above incidents, advert to them. He stated, that the subject 
was a familiar topic of conversation in that city, during his residence there. 
— Editor. 

f Louis Littiepage was the son of Colonel James Littiepage, of Hanover, 
who married Betty (sometimes called Elizabeth) Lewis, daughter of Zachary 
Lewis, senior, of Spottsylvania county, Virginia. 

Louis Littiepage was appointed, by the late King of Poland, Chamberlain 
and confidential Secretary in his cabinet, and was created by him a Knight 
of the Order of St. Stanislaus. He acted as the King's Special Envoy in im- 
portant negotiations. When the unfortunate Stanislaus Augustus was sent 
a prisoner to St. Petersburg, after, the dismemberment of his kingdom, Gener- 
al Littiepage wished to accompany him, but was separated from him at 
Grodno, and prohibited from going further, by the express orders of the Em- 
press. 



132 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1781. 

Littlepage participated, in a conspicuous manner, in the thrill- 
ing incidents of that memorable siege. 

Whilst he was at Gibraltar, I held a familiar correspond- 
ence with him. After his catastrophe in the floating battery, 
he contrived to obtain a situation on board of the Spanish 
Admiral's ship ; and, in one of the engagements, occupied 
himself, upon the quarter-deck, during the battle, in sketch- 
ing the various positions of both fleets. On the return of 
the Spanish fleet to Cadiz, he was sent with an officer to Ma- 
drid, bearing the dispatches. He exhibited to the minister 
an ingenious and scientific view of the battle, and was "re- 
ceived with great applause and distinction at the court of 
Madrid. 

In the April following the close of the war, I dined with 
him at Dr. Franklin's, in Passy, to whom he stated the above 
fact, and exhibited the sketch. At Paris and Versailles, he 
moved in the first circles, and attracted marked attention. 

In the following June, he made a visit at my bachelor's 
hall, in Belleter Square, London. I never saw him again. He 
subsequently made the tour of Europe ; established himself 
at Warsaw ; became, in effect, Prime Minister ; went to St. 
Petersburg, as Ambassador from Poland ; acquitted himself 
with distinguished ability, and became one of the favorites of 
the Empress Catharine. After the dismemberment of Poland, 
Littlepage returned to America, and died in Fredericksburg, 
Virginia. 

A violent and acrimonious controversy occurred between 
Mr. Jay and Littlepage, originating in the abrupt departure 
of the latter from the family of Mr. Jay, and his refusing to 
refund advances made to him by Mr. Jay. He assailed that 
pure and eminent patriot, in a pamphlet which bore the im- 
press of the genius as well as the bitterness of a Junius. 

A merchant of Nantes, and a friend, hearing of my intended 
journey to Paris, solicited me to conduct his wife, under my 



1781.] Or, Memoirs of ETkanah Watson. 133 

protection, to that city. Our carriage was arranged for the 
convenience of two passengers. On the second 
evening, a wheel broke, near the village of La Paris? 67 10 

Fl&che ; and we were necessarily obliged to stop 
for repairs. Madame, on a former journey, had made the ac- 
quaintance of the Curate of the parish ; and we determined 
to shelter ourselves under the wings of his hospitality, for the 
night. It was about eight o'clock, when we entered the Cu- 
rate's yard. His servants took charge of our baggage ; and 
we found the old gentleman seated with two or three priests 
at supper, upon hashed mutton and raw onions. Had I been 
an old friend, and rendered him a thousand services, he could 
not have received me with a more cordial welcome. His face 
was as serene as a summer evening ; a few grey hairs were 
mingled with his dark locks. "A Bostone and an ally," 
exclaimed the good man, " doubly entitle you to my atten- 
tion ;" "Mon ami," said he, kissing me on each cheek, with 
much fervency, (for men kiss men, in France,) " Je suis 
charme, de vous voir chez moi." He stepped back, and I 
looked full in his eyes, and thought I read in 
them so much benignity and truth, that I felt HospYtafities. 
not only a strong predilection for him, but an 
assurance of his sincerity. U I am heartily mortified," said 
he, pointing to the mutton hash, "that we have nothing 
better on the table; but, have the complaisance to wait ten 
minutes, and we shall have something plus comme il faut : 
Jonton! Tuinet! venez id" 

Madame was to spend the night with a friend in the vicin- 
ity ; and, having only myself to consult, I borrowed Jonton's 
"couteau," and attacked the mutton, although as tough as 
leather, and mixed up with raw onions, which I abominate. 
The old man's goodness, and a fine appetite, supplied all de- 
ficiencies. The supper removed, and dessert on the table, the 
good Curate gave me a detail of his life. 



l34 Men arid Times of the Revolution; [1781. 

He had served, he said, his king, for sixteen years, with a 
musket on his shoulder ; but, being disposed naturally to 
piety, he had changed the musket for the "eglise," and ob- 
tained his curacy, which secures him a quiet and virtuous 
life. An old soldier, he felt an instinctive curiosity to learn 
the progress of military events in America ; and was very in- 
quisitive about " Le grand Vas-sang-ton." When I had fin- 
ished an account of the affair at Trenton, the Curate insisted 
on drinking to his health and prosperity: "Allons! a la 
sante du grand Vas-sang-ton." He conducted me to my 
chamber, and himself adjusted my night-cap. 

Early the next morning, I strolled into an extensive gar- 
den near the house, and feasted on delicious fruit, still moist- 
ened with the dew of the night. I was soon joined by the 
worthy " cure," who made every effort to withdraw me from 
the dangerous paths of heresy into the fold of the true church. 
This led us into a curious dialogue, discussing the respective 
tenets of the Catholic and Protestant religions. 

We left this hospitable mansion, with deep sensibility. As 
Madame had some business two or three posts out of our way, 
and being anxious myself to visit the celebrated religious in- 
stitution of " La Trappe," we left the Paris road, taking a 
northerly direction. My companion chose to be cash-keep- 
er, and necessarily cash-payer, on the road. 
La U Trappe. Whilst Madame was disputing with the postil- 

lion, how much was overpaid, I was tripping 
ahead, viewing the country, and amusing myself chatting 
with the peasantry along the road. On our way to La 
Trappe, I imprudently did so just at night-fall, and found 
myself half a league in advance of the post-house, in the 
dark. It occurred to me, that I might have taken the wrong 
route, or that an accident had befallen the carriage. I soon 
heard wheels grinding along the flinty road, at the foot of the 
hill. Standing in the middle of the road, patiently awaiting 



1781.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 135 

the approach of the vehicle, I ran before the horses, crying 
out " Postilion, arrete ! arrete S" — but, what was my aston- 
ishment, to hear a gruff voice exclaim, " Sacre — postilion — 
qu'est ce qu'il y'a?" Thunderstruck at my blunder, and ex- 
pecting he would send a ball at me, I made the best of my 
way down the hill, and the postillion made the best of his 
over it ; we being mutually afraid of each other. He had 
certainly every reason to suspect me of being a foot-pad. 
The place, the darkness, every thing fortified the conclusion. 
Descending the hill precipitately, I was rejoiced to meet my 
own carriage, which I approached with caution. I left 
Madame, the next morning, at the village of Mortagne, and 
proceeded alone, a distance of eight miles from the main 
road, to the sequestered establishment surrounded with wood- 
lands, and known as the "L'abbaye de La Trappe," inhabited 
by perhaps the most singular and austere religibus order 
among mankind. 

The order was instituted, on the confines of Normandy, by 
the Comte du Perche, a gloomy and disappointed officer, who, 
under the influence of a melancholy misanthropy, desired to 
bury himself in seclusion from the rest of the world. I was 
greeted by the official, with great hospitality. 
They gave me, for breakfast, in a secluded La Trappe. 

room of the monastery, a small dish of meat, 
roots, bread, and cider. Here I observed edifying inscriptions 
upon the walls, and directions as to the conduct of visitors. 

The austerities and penances they impose upon themselves 
by their religious rites, would be insupportable by the human 
frame, unless sustained by their extravagant fanaticism, or, 
possibly, earnest devotion. They drink no wine, and abstain 
even from eggs and fish. They work three hours each day 
in the field, and retire at eight o'clock, P. M., in the summer, 
and seven o'clock in winter. They rise at two o'clock, A. M. ; 
and, repairing to church, continue at their devotions until 



136 Men and Times of the Revolution ; [1781. 

four o'clock ; they then return to their respective cells, and, 
at half-past five o'clock, again repair for half an hour to the 
church. At seven o'clock, they commence their labor ; and, 
when the weather confines them within doors, they engage 
in cleaning the church, or in some domestic avocations. 

The most extraordinary feature of their institution, particu- 
larly for Frenchmen, is, that they hold no oral communica- 
tion with each other; and visitors are not permitted to speak 
to them. They maintain, throughout their walls, except 
when engaged in religious duties, a profound silence, — like 
the stillness of the tomb. They find some occupation in the 
mechanical arts, and in writing for religious publications. 
After working an hour and a half, they again return to their 
rites in the church, and then retire to their cells. Again they 
repair to their chapel, to unite in hymns and anthems ; this 
brings them to twelve o'clock, their dinner hour. Their 
table is clean, but without cloths ; each brother has a cup, a 
knife, a towel, a spoon, and a wooden fork. They eat black 
bread, and drink a half pint of cider. They have at their 
meals roots, without butter or oil ; occasionally, beans or light 
soup, with a dessert of two apples. 

They proceed from the table to the church, and then labor 
for another hour and a half. Then each retires to his solitary 
cell, where he reads or meditates until four o'clock, when 
they again resume their devotions in the church. At five 
o'clock, they take their supper, consisting of black bread, 
with a little cider and apples. They again return to the 
church ; and continue there, engaged in their pious rites, un- 
til seven or eight o'clock, when they all retire to their lonely 
cells and miserable straw. The dying are placed on straw 
strewn with ashes. Thus live, and thus die, these infatuated 
men. 

The scene I contemulated, and the recital of their priva- 
tions and endurances, which I derived from a gentleman of 



1781.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 137 

the vicinity, whom I fortunately met here, exited in my mind 
emotions of grief and sadness, which made me desire no far- 
ther indulgence of my curiosity, on my route to Paris. I 
again mingled in the elegant festivities of the city, for two 
months, in the summer and autumn of '81. 

I came oddly in contact with the eccentric Mrs. Wright, on 
my arrival at Paris, from Nantes. Giving orders, from the 
balcony of the Hotel d' York, to my English ser- 
vant, I was assailed by a powerful female voice 
crying out from an upper story, " "Who are you? An Amer- 
ican, I hope !" " Yes, Madam," I replied, " and who are 
you?" In two minutes, she came blustering down stairs, 
with the familiarity of an old acquaintance. We soon were 
on the most excellent terms. I discovered that she was in 
the habit of daily intercourse with Franklin, and was visited 
by all the respectable Americans in Paris. She was a native 
of New Jersey, and by profession a moulder of wax figures. 
The wild flights of her powerful mind, stamped originality 
on all her acts and languge. She was a tall and athletic 
figure ; and walked with a firm, bold step, as erect as an In- 
dian. Her complexion was somewhat sallow; her cheek- 
bones, high; her face, furrowed; and her olive eyes keen, 
piercing, and expressive. Her sharp glance was appalling ; 
it had almost the wildness of a maniac's. The vigor and 
originality of her conversation, corresponded with her man- 
ners and appearance. She would utter language, in her in- 
cessant volubility, as if unconscious to whom directed, that 
would put her hearers to the blush. She apparently pos- 
sessed the utmost simplicity of heart and character. 

With a head of wax upon her lap, she would mould the 
most accurate likenesses, by the mere force of a retentive re- 
collection of the traits and lines of the countenance ; she 
would form her likenesses, by manipulating the wax with 
her thumb and finger. Whilst thus engaged, her strong 



138 Men and Times of the Revolution; [178*. 

mind poured forth, an uninterrupted torrent of wild thought, 
and anecdotes and reminiscences of men and events. She 
went to London, about the year 1767, near the period of 
Franklin's appearance there as the agent of Pennsylvania. 
The peculiarity of her character, and the excel- 

Her celebrity. x , , , 

lence 01 her wax figures, made her rooms, m 
Pall Mall, a fashionable lounging-place for the nobility and 
distinguished men of England. Here her deep penetration 
and sagacity, cloaked by her apparent simplicity of purpose, 
enabled her to gather many facts and secrets important to 
"dear America," — her uniform expression, in reference to 
her native land, which she dearly loved. 

She was a genuine Eepublican, and ardent Whig. The 
King and Queen often visited her rooms ; they would induce 
her to work upon her heads, regardless of their presence. 
She would often, as if forgetting herself, address them as 
George and Charlotte. This fact she often mentioned to me, 
herself. Whilst in England, she communicated much im- 
portant information to Franklin, and remained in London 
until 75 or 76, engaged in that kind of intercourse with him 
and the American government, by which she was placed in 
positions of extreme hazard. 

I saw her frequently in Paris, in '81 ; and in various parts 
of England, from '82 to '84. Her letters followed me, in 
my travels through Europe. I had assisted her at Paris, had 
extended aid to her son at Nantes, and had given him a free 
passage in one of our ships to America. Her gratitude was 
unbounded. This son was a painter and artist, of some emi- 
nence, and, in 1784, took a model of Washington's head, in 
plaster. I heard, from Washington himself, an amusing anec- 
dote connected with this bust. 

In January, 1785, I enjoyed the inestimable privilege of a 
visit under his roof, in the absence of all visitors. Among 
the many interesting subjects which engaged our oonver- 



i78i] Or } Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 139 

sation, in a. long whiter evening, (the most valuable of my 
life,) in which his dignified lady and Miss Custis 
united, he amused us with relating the incident w r asMnjton. and 
of the taking of this model. " Wright came to 
Mount Vernon," the General remarked, " with the singular 
request, that I should permit him to take a model of my face, 
in plaster of Paris, to which I consented, with some reluc- 
tance. He oiled my features over ; and, placing me flat upon 
my back, upon a cot, proceeded to daub my face with the 
plaster. Whilst in this ludicrous attitude, Mrs. Washington 
entered the room ; and, seeing my face thus overspread with 
the plaster, involuntarily exclaimed. Her cry excited in me 
a disposition to smile, which gave my mouth a slight twist, 
or compression of the lips, that is now observable in the busts 
which Wright afterward made." These are nearly the words 
of Washington. 

Some time after my acquaintance with Mrs. Wright com- 
menced, she informed me, that an eminent female chemist of 
Paris had written her a note, saying that she would make her 
a visit at twelve o'clock the next day, and announced also, 
that she could not speak English. Mrs. Wright 
desired me to act as interpreter. At the ap- fFrSi!ady d 
pointed hour, the thundering of a carriage in 
the court-yard announced the arrival of the French lady. She 
entered with much grace, in which Mrs. W. was no match 
for her. She was old, with a sharp nose, and with broad 
patches of vermillion spread over the deep furrows of her 
cheeks. I was placed in a chair, between the two originals. 
Their tongues flew with velocity, the one in English and the 
other in French, and neither understanding a word the other 
uttered. I saw no possibility of interpreting two such vol- 
leys of words, and at length abruptly commanded silence for 
a moment I asked each — " Do you understand ?" " Not a 
word," said Mrs. Wright. " N'importe," replied the chemist, 



140 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1781. 

bounding from her chair, in the midst of the floor; and, drop- 
ping a low courtesy, she was off. " What an old painted 
fool," said Mrs. W., in anger. It was evident, that this visit 
was not intended for an interchange of sentiment, but a mere 
act of civility, — a call. 

I employed Mrs. W. to make the head of Franklin, which 
was often the source of much amusement to me. After it 
was completed, we both were invited to dine with Franklin, 

and I conveyed her to Passy in my carriage, 
of ^Fr^iikiki! S8 s ^ e bearing the head upon her lap. No sooner 

in presence of the Doctor, than she had placed 
one head by the side of the other. " There !" she exclaimed, 
" are twin brothers." The likeness was truly admirable ; 
and, at the suggestion of Mrs. Wright, to give it more effect, 
Franklin sent me a suit of silk clothes which he wore in 
1778. Many years afterward, the head was broken in Al- 
bany, and the clothes I presented to the " Historical Society 
of Massachusetts." 

An adventure occurred to Mrs. Wright in connection with 
this head, ludicrous in the highest degree ; but, although al- 
most incredible, it is literally true. After the head had been 
modelled, she walked out to Passy, carrying it in a napkin, 

in order to compare it with the original. In 
Mrs. Wright returning in the evening, she was stopped at 
Head. the barrier, to be searched for contraband goods ; 

but, as her mind was as free as her native 
American air, she knew no restraint, nor the reason why she 
was detained. She resisted the attempt to examine her bun- 
dle, and broke out in the rage of a fury. The officers were 
amazed, as no explanation, in the absence of an interpreter, 
could take place. She was compelled, however, to yield to 
power. The bundle was opened; and, to the astonishment 
of the officials, exhibited the head of a dead man, as ap- 
peared to them in the obscurity of the night. They closed 



1781.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 141 

the bundle, without further examination, believing, as they 
afterward assured me, that she was an escaped maniac, who 
had committed murder, and was about concealing the head 
of her victim. 

They were determined to convey her to the police station, 
when she made them comprehend her entreaties to be taken 
to the Hotel d' York. I was in my room ; and, hearing in 
the passage a great uproar, and Mrs. W.'s voice pitched upon 
a higher key than usual, I rushed out, and found her in a 
terrible rage, her fine eye flashing. I thrust myself between 
her and the officers, exclaiming, "Ah, mon Dieu, qu'est ce 
qu'il y-a?" An explanation ensued. All except Mrs. W. 
were highly amused, at the singularity and absurdity of the 
affair. 

The head and clothes I transmitted to Nantes ; and they 
were the instruments of many frolics, not inappropriate to my 
youth, but perhaps it is hardly safe to advert to them in my 
age. A few I will venture to relate. On- my arrival at 
Nantes, I caused the head to be properly adjusted to the 
dress, which was arranged in natural shape and 
dimensions. I had the figure placed in the Franklin in" 
corner of a large room, near a closet, and Wax * 
behind a table. Before it I laid an open atlas, the arm rest- 
ing upon the table, and mathematical instruments strewn 
upon it. A handkerchief was thrown over the arm-stumps ; 
and wires were extended to the closet, by which means the 
body could be elevated or depressed, and placed in various 
positions. Thus arranged, some ladies and gentlemen were 
invited to pay their respects to Dr. Franklin, by candle-light. 
For a moment, they were completely deceived, and all pro- 
foundly bowed and courtesied, which was reciprocated by the 
figure. Not a word being uttered, the trick was soon re- 
vealed. 

A report soon circulated, that Doctor Franklin was at Mon- 



142 Men and Times of the Revolution; [i7 8l « 

sieur Watson's. At eleven o'clock the next morning, the 
Mayor of Nantes came, in full dress, to call on the renowned 
philosopher.. Cossoul, my worthy partner, being acquainted 
with the Mayor, favored the joke, for a moment, after their 
mutual salutations. Others came in ; and all were disposed 
to gull their friends, in the same manner. 

The most amusing of all the incidents connected with this 
head, occurred in London, whither I sent it after the peace 
of '83, when I had established a bachelor's hall in that city. 
I placed the figure, in full dress, with the head leaning out 
of the window, apparently gazing up and down the square. 
Franklin had formerly been well known in that part of the 
city, and was at once recognized. Observing a collection of 
people gathering at another window, looking at him, I or- 
dered him down. 

The morning papers announced the arrival of Doctor Frank- 
lin, at an American merchant's in Belleter Square ; and I found 
it necessary to. contradict the report. In the interval, three 
Boston gentlemen who were in the city, expressed a wish to 
pay their respects to the Doctor. I desired them to call in 
the evening, and bring their letters of introduction which 
they had informed me they bore, expecting to see him at 
Paris. I concerted measures, with a friend, to carry the 
harmless deception to the utmost extent, on this occasion. 
Before entering, I apprised them that he was deeply engaged 
in examining maps and papers; and I begged that they 
would not be disturbed at any apparent inattention. Thus 
prepared, I conducted them into a spacious room. Franklin 
was seated at the extremity, with his atlas, and my friend at 
the wires. I advanced in succession with each, half across 
the room, and introduced him by name. Franklin raised his 
head, bowed, and resumed his attention to the atlas. I then 
retired, and seated them at the farther side of the room. 

They spoke to me in whispers : " What a venerable figure I" 



1 78 1.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 143 

exclaims one. " Why don't lie speak ?" says another. " He 
is doubtless in a reverie;" I remarked, "and has forgotten 
the presence of his company ; his great age must be his 
apology. Gret your letters, and go up again with me to 

him." When near the table, I said, "Mr. B , Sir, from 

Boston." The head was raised. "A letter," says B , " from 

Doctor Cooper." I could go no further. The scene was too 
ludicrous. As B. held out the letter, I struck the figure 
smartly, exclaiming, " Why don't you receive the letter like 
a gentleman ?" They all were petrified with astonishment ; 
but B. never forgave me the joke. 




Interview mth Yorick, at Calais. Page 164. 



CHAPTEE VI. 



On the 27th of October, 1781, I left Paris, upon a tour, 
which was to embrace the northern provinces of France, and 
the Netherlands. After paying a short visit, at St. Denis, to 
the tombs of the deceased monarchs of France, we proceeded 
to Chantilly, over a paved road, and along an avenue, formed 
by a double row, on each side, of ornamental trees. The 
country was everywhere embellished with splendid villas. 
The palace of Chantilly belonged to the Prince of Conde. 
It was esteemed one of the most magnificent 
palaces, and beautiful seats, in Europe. We 
roved about the grounds, for some time, de- 
lighted at every step. The palace was surrounded with an 
artificial canal: near the former, was a double pavilion of 



Palace of 
Chantilly. 



1 761.] Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 145 

stables, containing three hundred fine English horses. These 
stables are built of hewn stone, ornamented with columns, 
marble statues, and glass windows, covered (Oh! Eepublican 
America) with silk curtains. The afternoon was serene ; and 
our delighted sensations can hardly be expressed, while stroll- 
ing through the gardens and about the palace. Here were 
marble statues, jets d'eau, cascades, labyrinths, grottos, arti- 
ficial ponds and islands, canals with pleasure boats, and a 
thousand other pleasing and enchanting evidences of taste 
and affluence. I was indeed enraptured; for it exceeded, 
alike in taste, variety, and splendor, all I had yet beheld. 
The scene seemed to combine European elegance and refine- 
ment, with Asiatic profusion. 

Whilst we were walking along the canal, near the palace, 
our conductor gave a whistle, and the whole surface was in 
a moment alive with old carp, struggling out from the mud. 
A little in advance, I observed ladies seated upon cushions, 
on the bank of the canal, calling the carp up, and feeding 
them with crumbs of bread. 

The forest appertaining to this magnificent estate was 
twenty-three leagues in circumference, and contained a vast 
number of deer, wild boars, and other animals. Here, the 
nobility hunt. In the palace, we examined numerous fine 
pictures of the battles and sieges of the great Conde. 

Leaving Chantilly, the next morning, we took a private 
road, passing through the grounds, and along the canal al- 
ready described. In the forest, we travelled twelve miles, 
through a continuous road, passing several barriers, without 
seeing a house or a human being. It was in truth as much 
in a state of primeval wilderness, as the wildest forests 01 
America ; being exclusively devoted to amusement, in hunt- 
ing, by the royal family, and the favored Nimrods of the 
nobility. 

We reached Lisle, the capital of French Flanders. I ob- 
7 



146 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1781 

served, in our passage from Chantilly, that the country was 
principally devoted to the wheat culture ; the vineyards of 
the southern region do not prosper in the northern provinces. 
Peronne was strongly fortified, having gate within gate. We 
passed through them in the night, and with 
great difficulty obtained admittance into the 
city, the gates being closed, on our arrival. Lisle was the 
key of northern France, guarded by one of the best fortifica- 
tions in Europe. As we advanced toward the north, we dis- 
covered a material and striking change, in the aspect of the 
cities, in the mode of cultivation, and in the manners, appear- 
ance, and language of the peasantry. Instead of hewn stone, 
the cities were built, in a great degree, of brick, assimilating 
to those of England and America ; the streets, neat and spa- 
cious, were generally ornamented with trees. I could with 
difficulty comprehend the jargon of the common people, who 
speak an infamous "patois," compounded of vulgar French 
and Flemish. Near Lens, we crossed a bridge leading over 
a fine canal, which we afterward noticed at various points of 
our journey. I was delighted to perceive, with what facility 
and rapid movement heavily laden boats were drawn along, 
by a horse, trotting upon the embankment. Contemplating 
these useful improvements, my mind would revert to my na- 
tive America, and calculate the probable influence of similar 
works, uniting her majestic streams, and connecting her 
mighty inland seas with the waters of the Atlantic. 

Lisle was one of the first cities of Europe, and ranked 
among the most elegant. It embraced extensive manufac- 
tures, consisting of silks, cambrics, camlets, and a variety of 
other articles, from which it derived its wealth and impor- 
tance. I left my carriage at Lisle, intending to pursue my 
journey in Flanders, upon their canals. We entered the do- 
minions of the Emperor Joseph, near Manheim. I saw the 
Emperor at Paris, during the last summer. He was then 



1781.1 Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson, 147 

travelling incog., under the title of Count de Lisle. He is 
a philosopher and statesman, possessing a liberal and orig- 
inal mind, but marked with extravagant and eccentric pecu- 
liarities. He was, at this time, introducing great and liberal 
reforms throughout his extensive dominions, and had already 
suppressed several orders of monks, those drones in the hive 
of society. The government of France felt the example, and 
had already innovated upon the prerogatives of clerical or- 
ders. The American Eevolution could not fail to diffuse this 
dawn of light, which was evidently enkindling in the horizon 
of Europe. 

The country from Manheim to Ostend, is level and pleas- 
ing ; producing grain, and tobacco of inferior quality. I de- 
voted a day to the examination of Ostend, its 
harbor, and the adjoining coast. It was a small, 
but interesting commercial city. The Emperor Joseph was 
levelling its fortifications, having constituted it a free city. 
The harbor was capacious, but shallow; and its entrance, 
dangerous in bad weather. Commercial men were attracted 
thither, it being a neutral port, from every quarter of the 
globe. An immense amount of shipping was in the harbor, 
said to amount to five hundred vessels, many of which are 
received into an extensive dry-dock, by locks or sluices. I 
walked the whole length of the quay, extending about a mile 
toward the sea, to the very entrance of the harbor, both sides 
of which were lined with vessels of every grade. The con- 
fusion of tongues among the merchants and sailors of almost 
every maritime nation, assailed my ears, as we proceeded, 
not unlike the tumult of Babel. It was a scene of deep in- 
terest and animation. From Ostend we pro- 

,,- r . n ,, , x Canal to Bruges. 

ceedea to Bruges, by a noble and spacious ca- 
nal ; one of the most magnificent works of the kind in Europe. 
The boat upon which we embarked, was designed to accom- 
modate one hundred passengers. It was, in fact, a floating 



148 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1781. 

hotel ; arranged, by the division of apartments, to separate 
the different classes of society. The line of demarkation in 
rank, was very strongly drawn, in Germany. The after-room 
of the boat was reserved for the nobility, and those who could 
afford to pay for the luxury it provided. It was an elegant 
parlor, in appearance, with gilded ceiling, velvet cushions, 
and silk curtains. The next apartment was on a larger scale ; 
decent and comfortable in its arrangement, and designed for 
the next gradation in society. ' The residue of the boat was 
cut up into a kitchen, and subdivisions for the inferior 
classes of passengers. This celebrated canal was constructed 
amid forests during the twelfth century. It is upon a very 
large scale ; and its shoalest part is twelve feet deep. It is 
adapted to vessels of two hundred tons, from the ocean to 
Bruges. 

Anterior to the rise of Amsterdam, Antwerp and the cities 
on the canals were the emporiums of Europe. Their com- 
mercial glory declined from that era, and has never been re- 
trieved. liVe were drawn by two horses, trotting on the 
broad and elevated embankment, which is lined with or- 
namental trees. Our progress was, about three miles an 
hour. As the surface of the canal is elevated several feet 
above the level of the country, which is a uniform flat, with- 
out a hill, we were enabled to view a delightful region, under 
high culture. I found this novel mode of travelling exceed- 
ingly amusing and agreeable. 

The whole territory has probably been reclaimed from the 
ocean ; and it is now the garden of Europe ; distinguished for 
the industry of its people, and the skill and science of their 
agriculture. We were annoyed, although somewhat amused, 
by crowds of young beggars, of both sexes, running after the 
boat, along the embankment, soliciting " charite." To induce 
us to be liberal, they performed many dexterous feats of 
tumbling, rolling upon the ground, and casting their feet 



i7 81 -] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 149 

against the trees, with their heads down, often in the most in- 
decent and disgusting attitudes. 

We landed in the suburbs of the town, and deli vexed our 
luggage to the care of a soldier. I followed him into the 
heart of this magnificent city. Bruges contained about thirty 
thousand inhabitants ; and its appearance evinced its former 
opulence. 

The position of the city is very fine. The houses have a 
lively appearance ; the streets are spacious and 
clean, with beautiful squares. Some of the described, 

churches are upon a scale of magnificence. The 
tower of the cathedral is loaded with bells, producing a 
harmonious musical chime. The summit of the tower is very 
high. We saw it distinctly at Ostend; and it serves as a 
landmark to ships upon the coast. I examined, in this city, 
many admirable paintings by Van Dyke, and other Flemish 
artists ; they excel in rural views, and night scenes, in which 
they give amazing effect to deep transparent shades, con- 
trasted with the strong reflections from fire or moonlight. 
Bruges covered a large space, and was extensively engaged 
in manufactures, particularly of linens. Several canals pene- 
trating through fertile regions, unite at this point, and infuse 
animation and vigor into its commerce and manufactures. 

Whilst contemplating the wonderful effects of these canals, 
I could not but envy the fortune of those regions which are 
blessed with them, and regretted that I should not live to wit- 
ness their diffusion in infant America. 

I embarked upon another canal, on my way to Ghent, a 
distance of twenty -four miles. We traversed a lovely country, 
rich in the profusion of nature, and the acquisitions of art and 
industry. From the canal boat, we overlooked, as far as the 
eye could reach, a continued plain, laid out with regularity, 
into square lots ; generally separated by rows of trees, and in 
the highest cultivation. The meadows were thronged with 



150 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1781. 

fine, high-fed cattle. The children of the happy peasantry 
were dancing in groups, or skipping along the embankments 
of the canal. I was charmed and delighted, in the contem- 
plation of this noble country, and its animating and lovely 
scenes. My pen cannot do justice to the beauty of the 
scenery I witnessed, and the elegance and comfort of the 
mode of travelling. 

The eminent agricultural reputation of this region, it is 
said, was attained by the practice of the red clover culture, 
as a fertilizer. The process was long kept a secret. It was, 
at length, and about the period of the settlement of New 
England, discovered by the English, who used it in connec- 
tion with a rotation of crops, and thus produced a new era in 
the agriculture of England. 

Ghent occupied a large extent of ground in proportion to 
its population; its walls being twenty -one miles in extent. 
In evidence of this fact, the French relate a 
LouisXiv bon-mot of Louis XIV., who boasted, after its 

surrender to him, that he " could put Paris into 
his glove." — Ghent, or "gant," in French, is glove. In the 
era of its power and glory, it was densely inhabited. The 
whole aspect of the city was neat and opulent ; the streets 
were wide and clean ; and the dwellings somewhat scattered ; 
nearly all having a small garden or grounds attached to 
them. It is advantageously and agreeably situated, at the 
head of the canal, and the junction with it of the Scheldt, 
and also of the Lys. These rivers, with the canal concen- 
trating in the midst of the city, divide it into twenty-four 
small islands, which are connected by innumerable little 
bridges. Its extensive manufactures consisted of cheap 
linens, ticking, lace, thread, etc. ; the exports were various, 
but chiefly wheat. English coal is much used. The old 
Gothic cathedral exhibits rare architecture, and contained 
many fine paintings. 



1781.] Or, Memoirs of ETkanah Watson. 151 

The city was inundated with, monks. The Koman Catho- 
lic religion predominated ; but the recent edict of the saga- 
cious Joseph, will, I trust, create a new epoch, and remove 
from the people the thraldom of a mercenary priesthood.* 

The road from Ghent to Brussels was excellent ; it is level, 
and paved, the whole distance. I travelled over it, in a 
crowded carriage, containing a motley assemblage, and among 
them priests and noblemen. I dined this day at a table d'hote, 
with a mixed genteel company of English, Americans, and 
French, in a sumptuous manner, with wine included, at only 
twenty-seven French sous. Brussels is pleasantly situated, in 
the midst of a fertile country. It is enclosed by 

Brussels 

a brick wall. I examined, with much interest, 
the magnificent collection of paintings contained in the 
Gothic cathedral ; one especially attracted my attention, re- 
presenting a Jew in the act of robbing a church of the 
" Bon Dieu." In the State House, I noticed a fine painting 
of Joseph. His wise and liberal measures of free trade, 
toleration, and other analogous acts, allured to this growing 
city vast emigration and wealth. The influence of this 
policy was perceptible in the expansion of the city, the 
erection of elegant buildings, and the formation of new and 
spacious squares. It contained about seventy thousand in- 
habitants. 

On my return from Brussels, I called upon the once cele- 
brated Silas Deane, at Ghent. He was a member of the first 
Congress, a sensible and intriguing man, and 
our early secret agent at the court of France. mrcharacter. 
He had lost his high standing, both in France 
and America. I found him a voluntary exile, misanthropic 

* In 1791, ten years after this period, the Roman priests of Austrian 
Flanders were exterminated or driven into exile. In my repeated strictures 
upon the monk, whose idleness and bad character demand animadversion, 
I in no respect intend to assail the Roman Catholic religion. 



152 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1781. 

in his feelings, intent on getting money, and deadly hostile 
to his native land. His language was so strong and decided, 
on the subject of American affairs, and evinced so much hos- 
tility to his country, that I felt constrained, upon my return 
to Paris, to announce to Dr. Franklin my conviction, that Mr. 
Deane must be regarded an enemy alike to France and Amer- 
ica. He observed to me, that similar reports had reached 
him before, but that he had been unwilling to admit their 
truth,* 

Cambray was strongly fortified, and has sustained numerous 
sieges. Its manufactures consisted chiefly of cambrics. On 
the great square, I contemplated, with respect, an ancient 

* Such, at the time, were my impressions, and the opinions I formed of Mr. 
Deane. I owe it to truth and justice, to record his vindication from these 
strictures, by a potent pen. John Trumbull, the brilliant author of McFingal, 
to whose perusal and criticism I submitted the compilation of my manuscripts, 
expressed the following views of Deane's character, in a letter, dated January, 
1823: — "Silas Deane, you say, among other things, 'was intent on getting 
money, and a deadly enemy to his native land/ But ambition, not avarice, 
was his ruling passion. In his early transactions at the court of France, as 
the political and commercial agent of Congress, he rendered important ser- 
vices to his country; but, by exceeding his powers, he made his recall neces- 
sary. Exasperated at the cool reception he met with on his return, and at 
the delay in settling his accounts, he became engaged in a contest with many 
of the most influential members of Congress. Defeated in many of his pur- 
poses, he repaired again to France. He found his political influence lost, 
with the loss of his official character. The publication of a number of his 
letters, written during his residence in France, charging the French Court 
with intrigue and duplicity in their negotiations with us, rendered him ob- 
noxious, and drove him into voluntary exile in the Netherlands, dissatisfied, 
exasperated, and impoverished, almost to penury. Thus forced into an^un- 
natural and friendless residence in foreign countries, he gave himself up to 
rage, resentment, and actual despair, and vented his passions in execration 
against France, AmeTica, and mankind. In this condition you found him, in 
the interview you mention. He considered himself as a man, not only abused 
and ill-requited for important services, but denied those pecuniary rewards 
which had been promised him, for his agency in Europe. His subsequent 
situation and end, you probably know." 



1781.] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 153 

palace, the former residence of the great and good Fenelon, 

the immortal author of Telemachus. The old 

cathedral and La Maison de Ville are interesting Fenelon 3 ! '* 

objects. In the latter are two statues of full 

size, which, advancing from a recess, strike the hours with 

ponderous hammers. The streets were badly paved, and, 

like most other French towns, narrow, and excessively dirty. 

Douay is also strongly fortified. Here convened what was 
called the Flemish Parliament. This city embraced a Uni- 
versity, founded by Louis XIV., two colleges, and several 
convents. Senlis contains a cathedral, the steeple of which 
was said to be the highest in France ; we discerned it at the 
distance of thirty miles. Here we viewed the ruins of a 
Eoman tower. 

I returned to Paris, by way of Douay, Cambray, and Sen- 
lis. From Senlis we diverged to Ermenonville, to visit the 
tomb of Rousseau. He died at the chateau of 
his friend, the Marquis de Girardin, as is as- ^tisseau. 
serted, in an apoplexy, whilst others profess to 
believe his death was caused by poison. He was buried on 
an island, situated in a small pond, and embosomed among 
venerable trees. It is a lovely and sequestered spot, where 
he often meditated with delight, and which he selected for his 
final resting-place. The tomb which contains his ashes is 
visible from the road. Our curiosity led us to visit this re- 
markable chateau and garden, and, above all, the grave of the 
sensitive Rousseau. Over his tomb is inscribed : — - 

"Id REPOSE L'HOMME DE LA NATURE, 

ET DE LA VERITE. 

VITAM IMPENDERE VERO. 

HIO JACENT OSSA J. J. ROUSSEAU." 

Soon after my return to Paris, I dined and spent the even- 

7* 



154 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1781. 

ing with the immortal Franklin. Arriving at an early hour, 
I discovered the philosopher in a distant room, reading, in 
the exact posture in which he is represented by an admirable 
engraving from his portrait ; his left arm rest- 
Hi's character*. ^ n § u P on tne table, and his chin supported by 
the thumb of his right hand. His mingling in 
the most reiined and exalted society of both hemispheres, had 
communicated to his manners a blandness and urbanity, well 
sustained by his native grace and elegance of deportment. 
His venerable locks waving over his shoulders, and the 
dignity of his personal appearance, commanded reverence 
and respect ; and yet his manners were so pleasant and fas- 
cinating, that one felt at ease, and unrestrained, in his pres- 
ence. He inquired whether I knew that he was a musician ; 
and he conducted me across the room, to an instrument, of 
his own invention, which he called the Armonica. The 
music was produced by a peculiar combination of hemispher- 
ical glasses. At my solicitation he played upon it, and per- 
formed some Scotch pastorales, with great effect. The ex- 
hibition was truly striking and interesting; to contemplate 
an eminent statesman, in his seventy-sixth year, and the most 
distinguished philosopher of the age, performing a simple 
pastorale, on an instrument of his own construction. The 
interest was not diminished by the fact, that this philosopher, 
who was guiding the intellects of thousands, that this states- 
man, an object of veneration in the metropolis of Europe, and 
who was influencing the destiny of nations, had been an un- 
tutored printer's boy in America. 

Our conversation, during the evening, was turned to the 
all-absorbing subject of the great combination of the French 
and American forces against Cornwallis. Our last informa- 
tion left the affairs in Virginia in a precarious and doubtful 
posture. De Grrasse had entered the Chesapeake ; Washing- 
ton and Eochambeau had united their forces ; de Barras, 



1781.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 155 

with seven sail of the line, had left Ehode Island to join de 
Grasse. The British fleet had sailed from New York, with 
ten thousand troops to relieve Cornwallis, and it was reported 
that a reinforcement had departed from England for New 
York. Thus stood the general aspect of our intelligence, at 
a crisis which seemed to involve the existence of a young 
empire. We weighed probabilities, balanced 
possible vicissitudes, dissected maps. We fear- comwSiu. 
ed, that the British fleet might intercept de 
Barras, at the capes of Virginia, and thus retrieve its superior- 
ity over de Grasse, attack and overwhelm him ; and, landing 
their army, defeat and break up the combinations of Wash- 
ington. The philosophy and self-possession, even of Franklin, 
seemed almost to abandon him. The vibrations of hope and 
fear occupied his mind ; and, still, I could perceive in him a 
deep conviction of a successful issue to the operations of 
Washington. I left him at night, in the company of Dr. 
Bancroft, an American, residing in London, but an ardent 
Whig ; and I returned to Paris, in deep despondency, sighing 
over the miseries of our bleeding country. 

At dawn, the next morning, I was aroused by a thunder- 
ing rap at my door. It brought me a circular from Dr. 
Franklin, struck off by a machine somewhat 
similar to the copying machines of the present c£ < ^i J j? # ennes ' s 
day ; and, with what unspeakable thankfulness, 
and thrilling interest, I read its contents ! It was as follows : 

" Copy of a note from Count de Vergennes to Dr. Franklin^ dated Ver- 
sailles, 19th Nov., 1781, 11 o'clock at night. 

" Sir : — I cannot better express my gratitude to you, for the news you 
often communicate to me, than by informing you, that the Due de Lau- 
san arrived this evening, with the agreeable news, that the combined 
armies of France and America have forced Cornwallis to capitulate. 
The English garrison came out of Yorktown the 19th of October, with 
honors of war, and laid down their arms as prisoners. About six thou- 



156 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1782. 

sand troops, eighteen hundred sailors, twenty-two stand of colors, and 

one hundred and seventy pieces of cannon, — seventy-five of which are 

brass, — are the trophies which signalize this victory ; besides, a ship 

of fifty guns was burnt, also a frigate, and a great number of transports. 

" I have the honor, etc., 

" De Vergennes. 

"To his Excellency, De. Franklin."* 

The next day I waited on Dr. Franklin, together with 
many American and French gentlemen, to offer our mutual 
congratulations. He appeared in an ecstasy of joy, observing, 
" There is no parallel, in history, of two entire armies' being 
captured from the same enemy in any one war." 

The delight and the rejoicings of all classes of the people 
were excessive. Paris was illuminated, for three successive 
nights. On my return to Nantes, along the banks of the 
Loire, I found all the cities in a blaze of illumination, and 
Nantes in the midst of it on my arrival. 

The following winter, wishing to pay some mark of respect 
to our beloved Washington, I, in conjunction with my friend 
M. Oossoul, engaged nuns in one of the convents at Nantes, 
to prepare some elegant Masonic ornaments, and gave them 
a plan for combining the American and French flags on the 
apron designed for his use. They were executed in a supe- 
rior and expensive style. We transmitted them 
Correspondence to America, accompanied with an address ; and, 

with Washing- . _ f. 

ton. we received from mm a beautiful and appro- 

priate . acknowledgment. The following are 
copies of our letter and the reply : 

" To his Excellency, General Washington, America. 

" Most Illustrious and Respected Brother : 

" In the moment when all Europe admire and feel the effects of your 

*The original of this deeply interesting document, and, indeed, the originals 
of nearly all the correspondence and documents referred to in this work, are 
in the possession of the editor. 



1782.] Or j Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 157 

glorious efforts in support of American liberty, we hasten to offer for 
your acceptance a small pledge of our homage. Zealous lovers of lib- 
erty and its institutions, we have experienced the most refined joy, in 
seeing our chief and brother stand forth in its defence, and in defence 
of a new-born nation of Republicans. 

" Your glorious career will not be confined to the protection of Amer- 
ican liberty, but its ultimate effect will extend to the whole human fam- 
ily, since Providence has evidently selected you as an instrument in His 
hands, to fulfil His eternal decrees. 

"It is to you, therefore, tbe glorious orb of America, we presume to 
offer Masonic ornaments, as an emblem of your virtues. May the 
grand Architect of the universe be the Guardian of your precious days, 
for the glory of the Western Hemisphere and the entire universe. Such 
are the vows of those who have the favor to be, by all the known num- 
bers, " Your affectionate brothers, 

"Watson & Cossoul. 

" East of Nantes, 23d 1st Month, 1782." 

" State of New York, Aug. 10th, 1782. 

" Gentlemen : — The Masonic ornaments which accompanied your 
brotherly address of the 23d of January last, though elegant in them- 
selves, were rendered more valuable by the flattering sentiments and 
affectionate manner in which they were presented. 

" If my endeavors to avert the evil with which the country was threat- 
ened, by a deliberate plan of tyranny, should be crowned with the suc- 
cess that is wished, the praise is due to the Grand Architect of the 
universe, who did not see fit to suffer his superstructure of justice to be 
subjected to the ambition of the Princes of this world, or to the rod of 
oppression in the hands of any power upon earth. 

" For your affectionate vows permit me to be grateful, and offer mine 
for true brothers in all parts of the world, and to assure you of the sin- 
cerity with which I am, 

" Yours, 

" Geo. Washington. 

" Messrs. Watson & Cossoul, East of Nantes." 

Nothing of material interest occurred for several months. 
I continued ardently devoted to my mercantile pursuits. 
Good fortune had attended all our enterprises, so that in 
'82 we estimated our net profits at forty thousand guineas. 



158 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1782. 

Our house had attained a high eminence. We employed 
seven clerks ; had a little fleet of six ships and 
Pn^erity. ^rigs ty m S at *h.e m °uth of the Loire. I was 

at the zenith of my commercial prosperity; 
but other destinies, of a far different cast, as will appear in 
the sequel, were in reserve for me. 

I have been induced to present these details, to demon- 
strate to my descendants, how important it is for young men 
to seek resources in their own minds, — to rely on their own 
hands, — to earn their bread by the sweat of their brow, and 
to spurn the props of wealth earned by others. 

In proportion to our prosperity, contributions were levied 
on my purse, by needy friends in America, as well as by 
distressed American officers, held in rigorous confinement at 
Mill Prison, near Plymouth, England. Through the medium 
of the Eev. Mr. Heath, near that place, it was my good for- 
tune to relieve many, and to enable some to effect their escape ; 
the galant Colonel Talbot and Captain Smeadley were of 
their number.* 

During the year 1781, 1 prepared for publication and trans- 
mitted to America, an article suggested by my observations 
in both countries, and contrasting, in some particulars, their 
manners and customs. My strictures were somewhat severe 
upon my own country, but the production was extensively 

* I find among the papers of Mr. Watson a letter on this subject from 
Colonel Talbot, of which the following is a copy : 

"Mill Prison, E?ig., 9 Aug. 1781. 
"Sir: — The twenty-five guineas which you have generously sent me, while 
it lays me under a deep obligation, is much enhanced by your attention 
in writing Mrs. Talbot my situation, as bad as it is. I thank you most 
cordially. Many others of my fellow prisoners have experienced your 
goodness, and pray with me that Heaven may bless and prosper you. 

" Your obliged friend, " Silas Talbot. 

" Mr. E. Watson, Merchant, Nantes, France." 



1782.] Or j Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 159 

republished in America, and, I have reason to hope, was 
not unfavorably received. I conjecture, that a 

» . . . Oprnion on 

few extracts from it may not be inappropriate Manners and 

, .-, . . n Customs. 

at this period. 

" In all civilized countries, we find many customs dictated 
by reason, and worthy of imitation. On the other hand, 
many have crept into society, which are only supported by 
the arbitrary mandates of fashion. Those who have only 
vegetated beneath the smoke of their native land, seldom 
discover any improprieties or imperfections in customs be- 
come familiar by habit ; but an observing traveller, who 
posts through other regions, emancipated from the shackles 
of his youth, with a mind open to conviction, discovers at 
once the absurdities of his own country, as well as those he 
traverses. 

" Although taught at an English school, from infancy, that 
the French people eat frogs ; make soup from old bones, and 
are a half-starved nation ; that politeness in France is formed 
by ceremony, and the grimaces of the monkey ; yet I am 
firmly persuaded there is no other people, under high 
Heaven's broad canopy, who understand the secret of mak- 
ing the most of life, and of good living, so well as the French ; 
and that in no other country does genuine politeness, the 
emanations of the kindly feelings of the heart, and the true 
spirit of " sans souci," so generally predominate, as in France ; 
while in no other land does there prevail so much gloom, 
formality, and awkwardness, as in England, whence we have 
derived our tone. 

"The ridiculous habit of drinking healths at table pre- 
vailed in France, but is now confined to the lower grades in 
society. A simple salute to the lady of the house, at present 
suffices. In large circles in America, it is almost impossible 
for a man to eat his dinner in peace, whilst attacked on every 
side, at the same moment, and obliged by custom, to return 



160 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1782. 

so many thanks. In France, every man eats his dinner 
quietly, and drinks when and what he pleases. 

" In America, we take our formal awkward leave of large 
circles, hobbling out of the room, as if treading among eggs, 
or apprehensive of being arrested in our course. In France 
when one is disposed to quit, he takes his cane and hat, and 
slips off without a word ; thus, no person is disturbed. 

" Our young men in America are wont to play the char- 
acter of a 'hearty fellow/ one of whose properties is to get 
drunk, which many do without a blush ; and, what would be 
degrading to savages, it is not unusual to turn the key upon 
the sober, to compel them to yield to the barbarous practice. 
In France, no gentleman gets drunk ; he would be debarred, 
and forever discarded from the society of virtuous females. 
None but the dregs of community are thus degraded. 7 ' 

In the summer of 1782, the influenza made the circuit of 
Europe, commencing, as it was said, at St. Petersburg. It 
reached Nantes, and our family, clerks, servants, officers and 
sailors in our employment, all were prostrated by it, and our 
operations were suspended. I was stricken 
influenza.^ down by the attack, and for many weeks was 
so debilitated, as to be disabled from attending 
to business. "With a view to the recovery of my health, and 
to take advantage of any commercial changes which might 
result from the general peace, that now seemed imminent, I 
determined, if practicable, to proceed to England. In pur- 
suance of this plan, I made preparations for this extensive 
tour. I was to set off in company with Mr. Laurens, who 
was then in the vicinity of my residence. 

This venerable gentleman was the father of Colonel Lau- 
rens, who, the last year, had been sent on a 

Mr. Laurens ; „_ • -, • . . ,, _, __ 

Colonel Laurens, special mission to the court of France. The 
loan which he accomplished, and the expedi- 
tion of de Grasse, resulted in the capture of Cornwallis. Al- 
4 



1782.] Or, Memoirs of Elkandh Watson. 161 

though a youth of only twenty-eight years, he achieved, by 
his consummate tact and extraordinary abilities, what the 
powerful influence of Franklin had failed to effect. 

Mr. Laurens was formerly President of Congress, and was 
appointed Ambassador to Holland, but, as I have already 
related, was captured, and committed to the tower. Through 
the interposition of Mr. Burke and others, he was temporarily 
released on parole, and was now on his return. Mr. Laurens 
acted a conspicuous part in the drama of the Eevolution. He 
was a citizen of South Carolina ; a man of great wealth and 
high position. He had a swarthy complexion, was of medium 
size, and slender form. He was a pleasant and facetious 
gentleman, and a pure and devoted Whig. Failing to accom- 
pany me, he was to rejoin me at Paris or London. 

On the 31st August, 1782, I left Nantes, boxed up in a 
convenient post-chaise, by the great Paris road, with my ser- 
vant, La Fleur, galloping in advance. As this 
faithful attendant will be frequently adverted La Fleur. 

to, I will briefly sketch his history. He was 
born in a valley of Auvergne, contiguous to Switzerland, 
whose peasantry are proverbial for their honesty and faith- 
fulness. La Fleur, having a tincture of enterprise in his com- 
position, emerged from his native mountains, in the character 
of a pedlar. Chance directed him to Nantes, where he drop- 
ped the pedlar, and assumed the eminent profession of chim- 
ney-sweep. Passing one day the corner of a lane, I caught 
a glance of his eye, enveloped in soot. I spoke to him ; his 
answer, the expression of his eye, the peculiarity of his smile 
and features, and his being a peasant of Auvergne, prepossessed 
me in his favor. A whim decided me to take him under my 
wing. I bade him follow me ; and then I sent him to the 
river to wash away his filth and soot. I soon arrayed him in 
new apparel, and drilled him to my service. A more faithful 
servant no poor traveller was ever blessed with. He wan- 



162 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1782. 

dered with me nearly two thousand miles. In wet and dry, 
in cold and heat, in every incident, La Fleur was at my call. 
On leaving Nantes, in '83, forever, I placed him with a mas- 
ter cooper. He ran after my carriage through the city, in 
the warmth of his affection and gratitude, even to the Paris 
road ; and the last I saw of him, at a mile's distance, he was 
still waving his white handkerchief. — Adieu, La Fleur ! 

In describing this extensive tour, I shall avoid the dry de- 
tail of a diary, and compress the leading features of my jour- 
nal into a concise review of the whole ground, as it embraces 
my observation of men, places, manners and customs. 

I had so often traversed the road to Paris, that the postil- 
lions exclaimed, " Voila encore Monsieur le Bostone." 

The day after my arrival at Paris, I waited on several 
distinguished American functionaries: Dr. Franklin, Mr. 
Adams, Mr. Jay, and our Consul-Greneral, Mr. 
' " Barkley, who were concentrated at that point. 

This fact, and the knowledge of the presence of Mr. Vaughan, 
the intimate personal friend of Lord Shelburne, and the secret 
agent of the British government, induced the belief that an 
informal negotiation was in progress.* 

It was pretty loudly whispered in private circles, that the 
pride of John Bull was so far humbled, particularly by the 
surrender of Cornwallis, as to be prepared to yield the great 
point in controversy, — the acknowledgment of American In- 
dependence. I noticed, however, with deep pain, that the 
venerable Franklin was probably in the last stages of life, 



* Mr. Vaughan was of American lineage. He was a member of Par- 
liament, upon the Whig side of the house ; was friendly to the cause of 
American Independence; and he essentially aided our ministers in Europe 
in promoting the acknowledgment of our nationality. Although a friend 
to order and good government, his liberal views rendered him, in '93, ob- 
noxious to the British government. He emigrated to America, and settled 
in Hallo well, Maine, where he died at an advanced age. 



1782. J Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 163 

which I feared might terminate, even before the first object 
of all his wishes was consummated, — the establishment of our 
Independence. His triumph then would be complete over 
the insolent Wedderburne ; and the regal George would be 
humbled into the dust. 

I determined to avail myself, if possible, of the packets 
now established between Dover and Calais, with the sole 
object of facilitating diplomatic communications, to plant my 
foot upon old England, the land of my forefathers. I found 
serious impediments crossing my path. If I should surmount 
the difficulties of effecting a passage, I must, Dr. Franklin 
suggested in the most friendly manner, encounter very great 
hazard in going into an exasperated enemy's country, an 
avowed rebel, and exposed to the suspicion, 
from my commercial relations, of communica- England 
ling information to American privateers, as well 
as to diplomatists. He yielded, however, to my importunity, 
granted me a passport, and furnished me with letters to some 
of the most eminent philosophers and statesmen of England ; 
and among them, Dr. Priestley of Birmingham; Dr. Price, 
of Hackney, and Mr. Burke. Mr. Yaughan entrusted me 
with a packet to Lord Shelburne, which I engaged to deliver 
the moment of my arrival in London. This fact gave me 
every assurance of safety and protection, shielded as I should 
thus be by the wing of the Minister. 

I left Paris on the 9th of September, 1782, for London, 
again passing through St. Denis and Chantilly. 

The next day we travelled on one of those pure and exhila- 
rating days, so cheering in France, along a level and highly 
cultivated country, passing through Clermont, 
Amiens, and Abbeville, in Picardy. We rode £™ e e . ns - Bou " 
all night ; and, just as the day dawned, we heard 
the distant roar of the surges beating upon the shore of the 
British Channel. We stopped upon the brow of a hill to 



164 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1782. 

listen ; and, soon after, the sun rose in splendor and genial 
warmth, revealing, in full view, the panorama of Boulogne 
"sur mer," — the channel, and the English coast. .This was 
my first glimpse of the land of my fathers. 

We continued upon an elevated road, parallel to the coast, 
with the spires of Calais towering before us. 
Fteur.' La Poor La Fleur had been pounding in the saddle 
on a bidet, all night and all the day before; 
sometimes in the dirt, and again astride of the horse, gallop- 
ing away, reeling and pitching, half dead from the want of 
sleep and excessive fatigue. Yet he persisted, with the fidelity 
of a Newfoundland dog. I pitied him, but we must all pay 
for our curiosity. 

At Amiens, I had been perfectly enveloped by a crowd of 
beggars, of all sizes and descriptions. The prominent charac- 
ter among them presented a most ludicrous appearance, with 
his ragged ruffles hanging in shreds, and his clothes in tatters, 
begging vociferously, " Au nom de Dieu!" 

Boulogne is pleasantly situated, upon the declivities of a 
hill, and commands an extensive prospect. It was strongly 
fortified, and claimed to be a harbor, although the anchorage 
was bad and dangerous, being exposed to the sweep of the sea. 
The celebrated " Courier de l'Europe," edited by Brissot, was, 
from this point, diffused throughout Europe, guardedly dis- 
seminating republican sentiments. 

At Calais, we thundered into the court-yard of Monsieur 
Dessein, immortalized by Yorick. We had hardly entered, 
before I saw him approaching, with his hat 
sterue! Sem ' tinder his arm, and at once recognized him by 
the accuracy of Sterne's description. His man- 
ner, the position of the hat, his wig, and polite civilities, all 
attested the identity of the man ; and whilst I was conversing 
with him, the scene of Sterne's description seemed to be real- 
ized by the approach of a monk, begging for his convent. 



1782.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 165 

The harbor is formed like that of Ostend, by a quay project- 
ing into the sea for half a mile. The remembrance of Yorick 
was familiar to Monsieur Dessein. I observed to him, — 
1 'Sir, you are immortalized by Sterne; you are known to all 
civilized nations, and will live through many generations." 
"Ah! yes!" he replied, "but I do not thank Monsieur 
Sterne for comparing me to a Jew or a Turk." 

We crossed the channel in about a three hours 7 sail, ran 
along the white cliffs of Dover for some distance, and then, 
suddenly doubling a point, dropped anchor in the harbor of 
Dover. We were at once boarded by the emis- 
saries of hungry landlords ; and, in obedience channel? 
to my rebellious propensities, I repaired to the 
" King's Head." I had been habituated, for the last three 
years, to the language, manners, and habits of the French 
and Germans. In a moment, as it were, the massive white 
structures of France gave place to the brick buildings of 
England : the whole scene was changed. I everywhere 
heard my native tongue. I saw the architecture and cus- 
toms of my country ; and even the boys in the streets were 
engaged in the games of my youth. I felt as if the work- 
ings of magic had transported me to America. This was 
the land of our rancorous foe and imperious tyrants ; still, it 
was the land of our forefathers. 

On the eve of my departure from Paris, Mr. Sayer, an 
Americar] by birth, but a former resident of London, who 
had been committed to the Tower on a ridiculous charge of 
plotting to seize the person of George III., and subsequently 
had been expatriated, solicited me to aid in the escape of 
a young Englishman, the son of an eminent barrister in 
London. 

It was impossible to insert the name of Eeynolds in my 
passport. There was no alternative but for him to pass as 
my servant, and to associate with La Fleur. He was equip- 



166 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1782. 

ped as a servant, and lie accompanied me in that capacity. 
Whilst La Fleur, however, was galloping along the road 
from Paris to Calais, Reynolds was snugly napping in the 
corner of my carriage. At Calais, whilst I 
leynoldf was negotiating with the Commissioner for my 

passport to Dover, that of Dr. Franklin termi- 
nating at Calais, Reynolds was trembling in the court-yard, 
awaiting with La Fleur to be inspected and described. I 
succeeded in passing both as my servants, and marched to 
the wharf of embarkation, through the streets, with each of 
my servants bearing a bundle, to screen Reynolds. 

When we arrived at Dover, my brother traveller, to the 
wonderment of La Fleur, threw off the masque, and as he 
stood on British ground, seemed an inch taller. With me 
the case was reversed. I felt apprehensive in an enemy's 
country, and thought in turn I might want the protection of 
Reynolds, or of his powerful connections. Such are the 
vicissitudes of life ! 

I confess, that I could not divest myself of apprehension, 
standing alone upon the soil of that country, which for seven 
long years had torn my native land at every point, and had 
devastated her coast with fire and desolation. Even there, I 
could not repress the exulting reflection, that we had glori- 
ously avenged ourselves, by the capture of two entire armies, 
by numerous victories, and by ravaging her commerce in 
every sea, and even along her own coast. 

Dover was not large; its streets were narrow, long, and 
dirty. It is romantically situated in a valley, with high, im- 
pending cliffs on either side. The castle which defends it, is 
about half a mile east of the city, and was very 
The Castle. strong and capacious. Its site spread over 

nearly thirty acres of ground. Here was the 
celebrated " pocket pistol" of Queen Elizabeth, that had a lie 
engraved upon its face, in the boastful promise of carrying a 



1782.] Or, Memoirs of Mkanah Watson. 167 

ball to Calais Hill, a distance of twenty-one miles. I was 
shown at the castle a remarkable well of immense depth, 
perforating the solid chalk ; its sides were perfectly smooth ; 
and a mere pebble, dropped from the hand, and bounding in 
its descent from side to side, produced an astonishing report. 
From Dover Castle we enjoyed a fine panoramic view of the 
British channel, the French coast, a distant glimpse of the 
German ocean, with the town and harbor of Dover at our 
feet, and the waving fields of old England, spreading far 
west and north, studded with villages and towering spires. 

We passed through Canterbury: its cathedral is in the 
style of the Gothic models of France, and other Roman 
Catholic countries. We traversed, in our progress toward 
the capital, an undulating, but richly cultivated and interest- 
ing country. In our rapid journey we passed through Chat- 
ham, Rochester, Dartford, Greenwich, and Woolwich. From 
various positions during the day, we caught a view of the 
Thames, covered with ships, like bees returning to their 
hives, bearing the collected sweets of every clime. The 
lofty dome of St. Paul's seemed to welcome 
our approach to London; now gilded spires st?Paurs. 
began to appear, then vast piles of chimneys, 
forests of masts and the confused scenes of a world within a 
world, rapidly opened to our enraptured gaze, and attracted 
and absorbed all our faculties, as they thickened round and 
bewildered us. 

I stopped at the rendezvous appointed with Mr. Laurens, 
at Nantes, and then immediately proceeded with my dis- 
patches to Lord Shelburne, who graciouslv re- 

r . , j x- • p Lord Shelburne. 

ceived me, and spent some time m a tree con- 
versation about American affairs, and inquiries relative to 
Dr. Franklin. 

Since the first hour of my landing in England, I have been 
amazed at the difference in the aspect of every thing on the 



168 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1782. 

two sides of the channel. These old countries, in actual view 
of each other, are as unlike as if separated by the expanse of 
mighty oceans. The houses, the face of the country, the 
figure and size of the people, nay, the very animals, are 
changed. Every thing but the houses is on an amplified 
scale in England. Most of the men at Dover seemed like 
moving butts of porter, compared to the meagre inhabitants 
of Calais. The English women appeared heavy and clumsily 
built, in contrast with the gay females of France. 

In delivering my various letters, I waited first on the Duke 
of Manchester, at his splendid residence, His 
Manchester. elegant person and imposing manners, im- 
pressed me with a high estimation of the dig- 
nity and character of the English nobleman. Sitting with 
him alone, I was not a little surprised by his introduction of 
the conversation. "I observed by one of the morning pa- 
pers," he remarked, "that a messenger of peace had arrived 
the preceding evening; are you the person, Sir?" " Yes," 
I replied, " I brought dispatches to Lord Shelburne, and trust 
that this circumstance will ensure me personal safety, and an 
opportunity of freely travelling in England." He replied, 
" Undoubtedly, Sir ;" and I then perceived by his questions, 
that he was sounding me as to my knowledge of the fact, 
that the government had just come to a decision to acknowl- 
edge our Independence. He then gave me the first assurance 
I had obtained of that event. 

In a few days after my arrival in London, I went to Black- 
heath, near the city, to pass the day at one of the sumptuous 
seats in that vicinity. This was the first exhibition I had 
witnessed of English hospitality, and fashionable manners at 
their board. Every thing was conducted on a scale of great 
splendor and magnificence. Their table customs are very 
similar to those of the refined circles of America. The man- 
ners of the ladies of England and America are cold, distant, 



1782.J Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 169 

and forbidding, when contrasted with, the airy and animated 
carriage of the females of France. 

toi it o France, 

In gracefulness and elegance 01 manners, the England, and 
ladies of France incomparably surpass those of menca - 
England and America. Cordiality and simplicity charac- 
terize the manners of America. 

Our scattered population, and the absence of the luxurious 
habits and customs incident to a greater progress in wealth 
and refinement, create these desirable distinctions; but, as 
we advance in the march of empire, and our population be- 
comes more condensed, our manners will more assimilate to 
those of Europe, and become less simple and pure. 

I have often speculated upon the probable influence on the 
happiness and progress of society, if the Sovereign of the 
Universe should, by His Almighty fiat, interpose a wall of 
separation between the Eastern and Western continents. 
The one, sinking into the dotage and imbecility of decay, 
would be deprived of the renovating influence of its young 
offspring ; whilst the other would be protected from the con- 
taminating effects of the matured corruptions of the old 
world. 

The servants attending upon my friend's table were neatly 
dressed, and extremely active and adroit in performing their 
offices, and glided about the room, silent and 
attentive. Their silence was in striking con- French and 
trast with the volubility of the French attend- American 

J Servants. 

ants, who, to my utter astonishment, I have 
often observed in France, intermingling in the conversation 
of the table. Here, the servant, however cherished, is held 
at an awful distance. The English servant is generally an 
ignorant and servile being, who has no aspiration beyond his 
present dependent condition. In America, our domestic feels 
the consciousness, that he in turn may become himself a mas- 
ter. This feeling may, perhaps, impair his usefulness as a 
8 



170 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1782. 

servant, but cannot be deprecated, whilst it adds to his self- 
respect as a man. 

I observed another custom of the English table, that asso- 
ciates it with the habits of America, and is strongly variant 
from those of France. Instead of the ladies 7 mingling in the 
arrangement at the table as in France, they are clustered 
around the lady of the house, at one extremity, as if seeking 
her protection. The effect of this usage is, to withdraw the 
ladies from the conversation of the social board, and to throw 
around them a studied reserve and chilling constraint. The 
ladies of France take the lead in social intercourse, and talk 
upon every subject, whether they understand it or not. 

The day previous to my departure from Paris, I had an 
opportunity of witnessing a delightful exhibition of the 
warmth and tenderness of the French female character. 
Whilst dining in a large circle, the awful catastrophe of the 
"Koyal George" was announced. It was amid the heated 
excitement and burning animosities of a sanguinary war ; yet 
every female was bathed in tears, and seemed to be oppressed 
with the most sincere sorrow and regret. I am aware, that 
this deep sympathy was evanescent, for the light-hearted 
French never dwell upon, or cherish any sorrow, but habit- 
ually dance over the ills of life. 

We devoted the afternoon to rambling over Blackheath, 
Greenwich Hospital, and the Park. I noticed many elegant 
mansions on the borders of the heath, and 
Hos^S? h amongst others the residence of the late Earl 

of Chesterfield, where he spent the latter years 
of his life, and whence he wrote his celebrated letters to his 
son. Greenwich Hospital is a noble and benevolent Institu- 
tion, worthy of the munificence of a great nation. In this 
last harbor of poor Jack, are moored about five thousand 
maimed and worn-down sailors, who have devoted their lives 
to sustain the glory of the flag of old England. Here they 



1782.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 171 

are comfortably maintained, and preserved from want and 
suffering. The hospital occupies an imposing position, com- 
manding a fine view of the Thames. Its noble terrace in 
front, and extensive park behind the building, the court and 
colonnades, are all on a splendid scale of magnificence. The 
park is adorned with venerable oaks, and enlivened with 
herds of tame deer. In its centre is situated the Koyal Ob- 
servatory. On a side hill descending towards the park, we 
observed multitudes of the citizens of London, regaling them- 
selves with sports and popular pastimes. 

Blackheath and Shooter's Hill, which descend towards it, 
have long been notorious in the annals of highwaymen. A 
gentleman with whom I had dined, witnessed 
in the evening, as he crossed the heath, the liberies 11 ' 
robbing of a coach. The gross violation of 
public safety, in the daring excesses of English highwaymen, 
casts a deep imputation upon the state of society in England. 
Nothing of the kind is apprehended in France. The ex- 
cellence of the police of France, in the country as 'well as the 
city, affords an almost perfect security against the outrages so 
common in England. I travelled in France whole nights, with- 
out a shade of apprehension. Loose articles of baggage may 
be left in a carriage, standing in an open court-yard during the 
night, with almost as much safety as in the wilds of America. 

I had been favored by Dr. Franklin with a letter to Dr. 
Price,* of Hackney ; and I took an early occasion to pro- 
ceed to that place, to hear this celebrated phi- 
losopher preach. The building and audience 
were plain, but respectable. After the congregation had 
withdrawn, the Doctor approached, with great politeness, 

* Dr. Price was eminent as a divine, and a writer upon the subjects of 
finance and politics. He was a zealous and eloquent advocate of civil liberty, 
and was enthusiastically regarded in America as a champion of her rights. 
His works bearing upon the American question had an important and 



172 Men and Times of the Revolution. [1782. 

conducted us into his private room, behind the pulpit, and 
unbent himself, on various subjects, in a kind and social 
manner. My friend delicately alluded to his great reputation 
as a philosopher and financier, and to the obligation America 
owed his pen, and the effect of his influence in her cause. 
He replied, " however he might be esteemed among men, he 
had lived long enough to know that he knew nothing." 

decided influence. They were entitled, u Observations on Civil Liberty and 
the Justice of the War with America. 17'76," — "Additional Observations, 1111*' 
— " The Importance of the American Revolution, and the means of making it 
useful to the World" It is said, that Dr. Price was freely consulted by Mr. 
Pitt in instituting his financial schemes. Dr. Price ardently espoused the 
cause of the French Revolution, and publicly avowed his exultation in its 
triumph. His sermon on this occasion is said to have produced Mr. Burke's 
"Reflections," in which he was assailed with much acrimony and violence. 
I still possess the former work, which he presented me on that occasion. 




Copley's Studio. Page 203. 



CHAPTEE YII 



I occupied the succeeding week, in exploring the spec- 
tacles of London. I made an excursion to Bichmond, where 
I walked in the train of the Boyal family, and saw the King, 
for the first time. I went on a pilgrimage to 
Twickenham, and made a visit to the lovely Koyal family. 
Bichmond Hill. In this vicinity is the magni- Banker, 
ficent villa of Child, the banker, whose only 
daughter recently eloped with a dissolute scion of the nobil- 
ity. Child was worth an immense estate, one half of which, 
it is said, he had squandered on this princely edifice and its 
appendages. It was said, that it contained seventy-five 
apartments, the architecture of each of which is peculiar to 
some distinct nation, and that, at a vast expense, he procured 



174 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1782, 

from the different countries their appropriate furniture. As 
if to mark the reprobation of Heaven upon this absurd pros- 
titution of wealth, which, worthily directed, would have car- 
ried blessings to thousands, within two days after he received 
the keys of this earthly palace from the hands of the builder, 
Child was himself consigned to the silent tomb, and his only 
offspring was in the arms of a bankrupt debauchee. 

Near St. James' Park I observed a sign, " The Irish Giant 
to be seen here." I was alone, and had heard nothing of this 
personage, but, impelled by curiosity, I was in- 
duced to pay my fee and enter. I was alone in 
a room with a monster in human form. He was sitting upon 
a chair as high as an ordinary table. As I entered, he arose 
like a cloud ; as he appeared intoxicated and ferocious, I in- 
voluntarily retreated towards the door. His height was eight 
feet and two inches ; and when I again ventured to approach 
him, I found that my head (my height being about five feet 
eight inches) reached but little above his hip bone. The 
name of this monster was Burns. I afterward learned, that 
he had sold his body to an association of surgeons, for five 
hundred guineas. 

Having ascertained that the King would acknowledge our 
National Independence, at the opening of Parliament, early 
in December, I determined to remain in England to witness 
the interesting and glorious event; and, in the interval, to 
occupy myself in obtaining information and extending my 
views of men and things in that attractive country. In pur- 
suance of this purpose, I hired, in connection with a friend, 
a post-chaise, and left London, October 6th, 1782, on a con- 
templated tour into some of the most important sections of 
England. I proposed to visit their manufacturing districts, 
and to examine their agriculture, and the general improve- 
ments in roads and canals. 

The day before leaving London, I dined at the " Cock" 



1782.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 175 

Coffee-House, near the Koyal Exchange. Leaning over the 
piazza, I observed a carriage drive up with four fine horses, 
and servants in rich livery. I observed to an English gentle- 
man with whom I was standing, " It seems we are to have 
some nobleman with us to-day." He laughed, and replied, 
" That nobleman is our landlord. Having made an immense 
fortune in this house, he bought a large estate 
in the vicinity ; but, after a year's trial of indo- Sndiord. 

lence, he returned to his old pursuit, necessary 
to him from the habits of twenty years. He comes in, every 
day, in this style, and returns to his estate in the evening." 
I took my seat in a dining-box, and the landlord soon ap- 
peared with a white apron tied up to his chin. I cried out, 
rather more audibly than usual, " Waiter;" he promptly 
gave the "Coming, Sir!" and ran up to me with all humility. 
Such is the supreme force of habit 

The stranger in England is delighted with their noble and 
fleet horses, comfortable carriages, excellent roads, sumptu- 
ous taverns, devoted landlords and landladies, 
and neat and civil post-boys with jockey caps. fra^einng. 
The postillions in France, I should remark, are 
often rude and brutaL If a man has his pockets well lined 
with guineas, no country equals England, in the pleasures 
and facilities of travelling. 

I left London, throwing myself upon the tide of circum- 
stances, without any definite plan of movement ; but gov- 
erned by a desire of making a comparative view of my own 
country, in its infancy, with the institutions and usages of 
the old and rival nations of France and England. In the 
two former I had extensively travelled. 

The afternoon was fine ; and I found myself for the first 
time in a light and elegant post-chaise, bounding over the 
spacious gravelled turnpike to Brentford. Instead of heavy 
boots hooped with iron, and enormous spurs, — heavy post- 



176 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1782. 

chaises, with shafts and ox-wheels,— three horses, heavy and 
clumsy, abreast, and paved roads, — as in France, I found 
here handsome, fine-limbed horses, as fleet as the wind ; light 
post-chaises, in form resembling chariots ; post-boys, trim and 
neat, polite and civil ; and roads well gravelled. 

We passed, at fall speed, Maidenhead, where a fine stone 
bridge crosses the Thames, from which is commanded a bril- 
liant view of meadows and valleys richly cultivated, spread- 
„ . , , , ing far and wide, with the placid river winding 
its peaceful course toward the capital we had 
left. The hills gradually descend on each side toward the 
plain, and are embellished with splendid seats and villas. 
Maidenhead is an animated place, full of fine houses; and, 
being one of the great avenues toward the metropolis, it is 
all in commotion. The little village of Bray, destined to im- 
mortality through its vicar, is situated at the foot of the hill. 

At dawn the nest morning, we were rattling through the 
streets of Henley, on our way to Oxford ; and in the evening 
we alighted at Portugal house, the elegant residence of my 
friend, Mr. Green, in Birmingham ; having 
passed, during the day, through the shires of 
Oxford, Buckingham, and Warwick. The country is gen- 
erally level or undulating, and in an admirable state of cul- 
tivation. The peasantry have ruddy and healthy coun- 
tenances. 

We passed a turnpike-gate, every ten or fifteen miles, with 
an average charge of fifty cents each. All the other disburse- 
ments of the road were proportionably extravagant, and were 
at least double those of France. The expense of living in 
England is exorbitant. A gentlemen of fortune assured me, 
that he removed with his carriage and family to the south of 
France, and lived, for five hundred guineas annually, in a 
style that would have cost him, in England, two thousand. 

Malt liquor is the universal beverage of the country ; and, 



1782.] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 177 

as a consequence, I have seen more portly men in England 
in one day, than I met with in France in three years. 

Descending from an elevated country to low grounds, we 
crossed the Magdalen bridge, six hundred feet long, and im- 
mediately entered Oxford, the celebrated seat 
of learning. Here I could devote the cursory 
examination of a few hours only, to objects that demand the 
close attention of days. The streets are spacious and clean, 
and the place healthy. 

Oxford is highly interesting, on account of its twenty col- 
leges, and numerous students and professors. There is noth- 
ing marked or engaging in the architecture of these colleges, 
it being antiquated and inelegant. They are richly endowed, 
and contain extensive and valuable libraries. The surround- 
ing grounds are spacious and ornamented, embellished with 
extensive walks, groves, and gardens. The whole number 
of students and officers was estimated at three thousand. 
Three or four bridges cross the Cherwell, which glides by the 
town, and falls into the Thames. In an adjacent meadow 
we discovered the ruins of a nunnery, an interesting relic of 
bygone ages. 

We made a short stay at Woodstock, sufficient to enable 
us to run over the splendid palace of Blenheim, erected by 
the nation to commemorate the victory of Marl- 
borough. We entered Stratford-upon-Avon, W s^fo?d! 
after crossing a large stone-arch bridge over the 
Avon, and alighted at the White Lion Inn, near the house 
in which Shakspeare was born. The sign at this Inn is a 
portrait of the immortal bard, with the lines of his brother 
bard, — 

" Here sweetest Shakspeare, fancy's child, 
Warbled his native wood-notes wild." 



Stimulated bv an ardent and greatly excited enthusiasm, 

8* 



178 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1782. 

I abandoned my friend at the inn, and hastily ran to contem- 
plate the object of my anxious inquiries, — a little, old and 
dilapidated dwelling, — the birth-place of Shaks- 
li a th-pkce.' S peare. There I saw a decrepit old woman, who 
pronounced herself the only surviving descend- 
ant of the illustrious poet. She pointed out to me the rem- 
nant of an antiquated chair, which he had occupied; it is 
cherished as an interesting memorial. A considerable propor- 
tion of it had been cut off by visitors, in the course of several 
generations ; and, it is often seen wrought into rings and brace- 
lets, worn by ladies in memory of the bard. From the house 
I proceeded to the parish church, to view the 
Monumentf nd grave and monument of Shakspeare. The mon- 
ument was erected by his wife, and a bust of 
him is placed against the wall. Opposite to this, in the centre 
of the chancel, is a white marble slab, embedded in the 
paved floor, upon which is inscribed the following lines, 
written by himself: 

"Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbear 
To move the dust that resteth here; 
Blest be the man that spares these stones, 
And cursed be he who moves these bones." 

Either the reverence that attached to the poet's name, or 
the dread of his malediction, has exempted his remains from 
the desecration too common in English church-yards. Op- 
posite the grave of Shakspeare, on the outside of the church, 
is a large charnel-house. In accordance with ancient usage, 
when a new corpse is to be interred in the body of the church, 
the old and decaying bones exhumed in preparing the fresh 
grave are removed, and thrown into a promiscuous pile, in 
the charnel-house, constituting an unhonored and forgotten 
wreck of poor mortality. 

Shakspeare, doubtless, had, from childhood, watched the 



1782.] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 179 

operation of this system, and his sensitive mind was agitated 
and shocked at it. Hence arose his fearful denunciation. 

Stratford is an incorporated city. The Avon washes it, 
and falls into the Severn at Tewkesbury. 

We proceeded with rapid speed from this place to Birming- 
ham, where I was delightfully domesticated in the family of 
my friend Mr. Green, brother-in-law to the 
Earl of Ferrers. On my arrival at Birmingham, T ^efafc 
I was surprised to learn that several of my 
Tory connections, exiles from America, were residents in the 
city : among the number was Chief Justice Oliver, of conspic- 
uous distinction, in the early stages of the Revolution ; and 
also a son of the notorious Governor Hutchinson. 

Whilst I was walking with Judge Oliver, in the streets of 
Birmingham, he pointed out to me three gentlemen walking 
together, with the remark, that they were 
amongst the most eminent philosophers of Eu- p r if s tiey ^ watt' 
rope. They were Dr. Priestley, Mr. Watt, the 
inventor of the steam-engine, which had recently excited so 
much interest, and Dr. Moyes, of Scotland, who was totally 
blind, but was then engaged in giving a course of philosoph- 
ical lectures. I was introduced to them by the Judge, and 
afterward frequently visited Doctor Priestley,* (to whom I 
had a letter from Dr. Franklin,) at his residence, about a mile 
from the city. Doctor Priestley was a thin man, with a sharp 

* This eminent theologian and accomplished philosopher was of low 
origin. He descended from Calvinistic parents, and passed through various 
stages of belief, some eccentric and peculiar, from Calvinism to Unitarian 
doctrines ; but, it is asserted, he was a uniform opponent of infidelity. He 
was highly distinguished as a man of science, in all its avenues ; and was 
eminent as a metaphysician. The known affinity of his feelings with the 
French Revolution, excited the outrage of a mob at Birmingham, which 
destroyed his house, and consumed with it his library, manuscripts, and 
philosophical apparatus. In 1794, he emigrated to America, and died in 
comparative obscurity, in February, 1805. 



180 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1782. 

nose and face, and wore a full, bushy wig. He exhibited to 
me his extensive electrical apparatus, which occupied a room ; 
and his laboratory, which filled another apartment. No man 
has effected more interesting developments in science. He 
showed me also his extensive library ; but he was himself a 
library, a living encyclopedia. He was esteemed, I believe, 
throughout Europe, as one of the most distinguished and 
learned men of the age. He regularly officiates in a plain 
church, in the suburbs of the city, his tenets being Socinian. 
I often met Mr. Watt at Doctor Priestley's, who was his 
brother-in-law, and was said to aid him in his steam investi- 
gations. Mr. Watt was entirely absorbed in 
His Avenue. ^ s steam-engine projects. He informed me, 
that he had erected several in the tin mines of 
Cornwall, at the expense of the proprietors, and -that he re- 
ceived one half of the savings produced by his machines, 
compared with the former mode of working the mines. He 
assured me, that he already received from this source a re- 
venue of five hundred pounds sterling per annum. He was 
also concerned in the extensive works at Soho, near the city, 
where he had introduced his steam-engines, with great suc- 
cess. Here they worked, by ingenious mechanical contriv- 
ances invented by Mr. Watt, in gold and silver, and a variety 
of compositions. Their plate work is an admirable imitation 
of pure silver, and their ornamental work was much admired 
all over Europe. Previous to our Eevolution, these exten- 
sive works employed about twelve hundred operatives ; but 
the number was at that time reduced about one half. 

Birmingham may be pronounced one of the most active 
and busy cities of the world. Its manufactures, chiefly hard- 
ware, were scattered over the marts of the 
Canai 1 s ngham ' whole earth. Its business had been greatly en- 
hanced by various canals, which concentrate 
here, and communicate with Liverpool and Manchester, on 



1782.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 181 

one side, and Bristol and Oxford on the other. These canals 
promoted the prosperity of the people of this city, as well by 
rendering the coal region easily accessible to them, as by af- 
fording cheap transportation for the raw material which they 
require for their own manufactured fabrics. 

The city was enveloped, night and day, in a cloud of coal 
smoke, pleasant to the citizens, but exceedingly offensive to 
the olfactories of a stranger. It contained about forty thou- 
sand inhabitants, being handsomely built upon a side hill, 
nearly in the form of a crescent. Mr. Watt informed me, 
that the Birmingham canal, which unites with the Stafford- 
shire and Worcestershire canal, about two miles from this 
city, is carried down the hill by twenty locks, which cost five 
hundred pounds sterling each, making in that distance one 
hundred and thirty-six feet fall, or about seven feet lift, to 
each lock. The boats which ply on it are seventy feet long, 
and very narrow. The stock divided from twelve to twenty- 
four per cent., annually. This canal was commenced twelve 
years before, under the charge of the famous Brindley, the 
self-created engineer, and has enriched the whole region. 

On one occasion of my visiting Doctor Priestley, he read 
to me a letter from Doctor Franklin, describing the terrific bat- 
tle between the fleets of Eodney and De Grasse, 
in deadly conflict for several hours. It detailed E ^S e d 
the manoeuvres of the former, said to have been 
suggested by the theoretical plan of a merchant, and then 
first put in practice, by which the enemy's line being broken 
in the centre, one half of it was enclosed in a double line of 
hostile ships, whilst the remainder was compelled to remain 
in the excrutiating agony of passive spectators of the awful 
work of destruction and death. Franklin imagined himself 
and Priestley suspended in a cloud, hovering over the scene, 
and witnessing its dreadful progress. 

The first Sunday I spent in Birmingham, I accompanied 



182 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1782. 

Judge Oliver to church ; and when the clergyman pronounced 
in an audible voice, " Lord, turn the hearts of our rebellious 
subjects in America," the Judge gave me a smart jog on the 
elbow, as if to make a personal application of the prayer. 
The progress of events enabled me to return the hint, by a 
" retort courteous." I was again at Birmingham, after the 

formal recognition of our Independence ; and I 
Peter fc onver. occupied with Judge Oliver a seat in the same 

church. After the service, I whispered to him, 
"Well, Sir, I waited in vain, this time, for a jog on the 
elbow." 

The Tory refugees were vindictive and bitter, in their hos- 
tility to the men and events of the Eevolution. Judge Oliver 
imputed much, in its earlier movements, to the influence and 
untiring energy of John Adams. He pronounced him one 
of the most dangerous men to British domination in America. 

This conversation I partly communicated to Mr. 
John Adanw. Adams afterward, in Paris. In a letter, dated 

December 16th, 1790, Mr. Adams remarks to 
me, in allusion to this topic : — 

"I remember that you once told me, at the Hague, * that the Ameri- 
can Tories and refugees in England dreaded me more than any, or all 
other men in the world. 1 These expressions, although very strong, are 
of an ambiguous construction. There were some forged letters printed 
in my name in the London newspapers, breathing vengeance against 
that description of people, which was never in my feelings, nor con- 
sistent w T ith my principles. From these counterfeits, they might be led 
to expect from me vindictive measures against them, which I never 
dreamed of. The refugees might entertain hopes, however weak and 
visionary, of again seeing the domination of Britain re-established in 
America, and think me their most determined opponent. In such a 
guess as this, they would not have been much out. I will thank you to 
explain the matter, as you know their sentiments." 

In a letter which I received from him in July, 1812, he 
again alludes to the subject thus : — 



1782.] Or j Memoirs of ETkanah Watson. 183 

"You once gave me some dark and broken hints of a conversation 
you had with Judge Peter Oliver, in England, which appeared to me to 
have entered deeply into the causes of our Revolution. 

"I know of no reason, why, at this time of day, that conversation or 
any other information relative to that event, should be concealed or 
withheld from the public. But if you will communicate it to me, 
though it should be in confidence, I should esteem it as a favor. 

" / have long expected and earnestly wished to see a Tory history of 
the Revolution, its causes, rise, progress and completion. That such a 
thing will appear, I have no doubt, and should be very happy to see it." 

Again, in November, 1817, he refers to the subject, after 
receiving some explanations from me. He says : — 

" When Chief Justice Oliver said to you, in 1782, that he dreaded me 
more than any man in America, he did not explain his reasons. He 
knew that I was the first projector of the impeachment of the Judges, and 
he believed that measure to be the critical event on which the Revolution 
turned" 

No man familiar with the Eevolution, could hesitate to ac- 
cord to Mr. Adams one of the highest places of eminence, 
among the patriots who animated the spirit, and who guided 
the measures of the Eevolution. 

Mr. Green, the night previous to my departure from Bir- 
mingham, gave a supper to the Americans in the city. There 
were about the board twenty-five besides myself ; and I was 
the only avowed rebel m the group. It was agreed, that they 
might talk Tory, whilst I should be permitted to talk rebel ; 
and thus being unconstrained, we passed an amusing even- 
ing. 

On the point of resuming my excursion to the north, I 
sought from my friends information as to my route, and the 
objects of my journey ; and it is a remarkable fact, that upon 
these subjects, and in respect to the road, country, manufac- 
tures, agriculture, etc., I received the most accurate and de- 
tailed information from Dr. Moyes, the blind philosopher, 



184 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1782. 

who never saw any of them. He was a man of very in- 
teresting scientific and literary attainments, 
Dr. Moyes, endowed with fine native talent, which had 

the Blind . _. 

Philosopher. been matured and invigorated by thought and 
reflection. Mechanical employment was the 
favorite occupation of his youth. At an early age, he made 
himself familiar with the use of edge-tools ; and although 
totally blind, he succeeded in constructing, with his own 
hands, many" nice and complicated pieces of machinery. 
The fund of intelligence which he collected and stored up in 
his memory, was truly wonderful. From these resources, al- 
ways at command, he would pour forth in conversation the 
richest strains of wisdom and information. He was not 
merely a distinguished lecturer upon chemistry, but his mind 
had garnered rich treasures in the various departments of 
learning. He possessed, it was said, a general knowledge of 
most of the profounder sciences embraced in the Newtonian 
philosophy. The fact, that he had, from infancy, been de- 
prived of the use of his eyes, made him a prodigy of wisdom 
and attainments. He afforded a wonderful instance of the 
triumph of genius and energy over the most difficult of hu- 
man obstacles. 

Mr. Green accompanied me as far as Litchfield ; and, in the 
last exercise of his kindness, introduced me to the sister of 
Garrick, with whom I«passed an evening. Her 
Sister of eyes were full, penetrating, and jet black, like 

Litehfieid. her brother's. Litchfield is a venerable and 

well-built city, with streets clean, spacious, and 
well paved. The cathedral is one of the most magnificent 
old Gothic churches in England. I always contemplated 
these monuments of other ages, with awe and deep venera- 
tion. I spent an hour in a sad sojourn in the church-yard, 
viewing the cathedral and the tombs, around it. The struc- 
ture still remains in grandeur and beauty, whilst the hands 



1782.] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 185 

that created it have long since crumbled into dust I ob- 
served an almost infinite number of rooks or ravens croaking 
near the towers, and sailing through the arches of the ancient 
pile. 

Travelling in one day from Litchfield to Liverpool, and 
making a journey fraught with continued interest and ex- 
citement, we crossed the Trent twice, and 
often passed over, and once under, the Duke Liverpool 

of Bridgewater's canal, riding along its margin 
during most of the day. "We galloped over a most- interest- 
ing country. The scenery was enchanting, and constantly 
presented new features and changes. Near Newcastle, we 
were enraptured with a most gorgeous and lovely view from 
an eminence, formed of a widely spread plain, diversified 
with fields and groves, and glittering streams, studded with 
villages and elegant villas, and animated with a thousand 
herds, lowing along its meads. During this day, I saw 
numerous country seats, of various peculiarities of architec- 
ture, and embellished with all the appliances of wealth and 
refinement. We traversed some bad roads, through artificial 
forests, planted by the hand of man; and over hills and 
dales, and along beautiful water-courses. 

At Warrington, I left my carriage, and took a seat in the 
stage coach for Liverpool. I was alone with La Fleur ; and, 
placing my loaded pistols under the cushion, I was soon 
sound asleep, with folded arms, pitching and reeling in sym- 
pathy with the motion of the carriage. Suddenly I was 
aroused by a check to the full speed of our horses ; I rubbed 
my eyes, — heard a confused noise of voices, and, looking 
out, saw by the light of the full moon, that we were sur- 
rounded by a band of armed men, their suspended hangers 
flashing in the moonlight. I heard a voice exclaim, " We 
will hang him, by Gr — d." At the same instant, the carriage 
door was thrust rudely open, and, in an authoritative tone, I 



186 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1782. 

was ordered to " come out." I was in dismay and astonish- 
ment, at finding myself encompassed, as I supposed, by a 
numerous body of armed foot-pads; and the 
nnpressment. thought flashed through my mind, that, by 
some unlucky event, the approach of a rebel 
might have been intimated to an excited populace, who de- 
signed to avenge the death of poor Andre. I had no time 
to hesitate ; but, dropping a valuable watch in the carriage, I 
seized and cocked my pistols, and ordered the men to stand 
off. They hesitated, and then demanded whether I was not 
the commanding officer of the press-gang. I assured them I 
was not the man they sought ; and, to satisfy them, I sprung 
out, and to my no small joy was permitted to pass. They 
were sailors, who had been hunted down by the bloodhounds 
of the government, until, driven to desperation, they were in 
pursuit of an officer of the press-gang, to avenge themselves 
for the cruelties to which they had been subjected by him. 
He had been pointed out to me that evening at Warrington, 
and narrowly escaped the hands of these self-constituted 
avengers. The barbarous and demoralizing system of im- 
pressment, would disgrace the most despotic government on 
the earth; and yet, in this country of boasted liberty and 
laws, it is tolerated by the government, and sanctioned by 
established custom. When the peril of this scene was over, 
I trembled like an aspen leaf ; but, happily, when the hazard 
was imminent, I retained full control of my nerves. The 
excitement of danger, I have often observed, will sustain us 
in the crisis. 

Late in the evening, we penetrated into the heart of the 
great commercial emporium, Liverpool, drove into the court- 
yard of the Golden Lion, and were conducted, 

Liverpool. ., . ... .. _ 7 

without ceremony, into a dirty little chamber 
in the attic. This drew the shrewd remark from honest La 
Fleur, in French, " Monsieur, if we rattled round the court- 



1782.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 187 

yard in our own carriage, and made a thundering noise, 
comme en France, par Dieu ! nous aurions une belle chambre au 
premier etage." I devoted the next day to the examination 
of this interesting city and its vicinity. Liverpool is situated 
upon the east side of the Mersey, and lies low. The adjacent 
country is flat and sandy. In 1699, it was only constituted 
a parish ; and in 1710, the first dock was constructed. A 
little more than a century ago, it was an insignificant fishing 
borough, giving a precarious occupation to about one hundred 
sailors. It now contained nearly forty thousand inhabitants, 
and was rapidly advancing in wealth and population. Ele- 
gant new houses were erecting, upon wide streets. From 
the summit of the Exchange, I had a fine view of the city 
and environs. The merchants, I observed, transacted much 
of their business in the street fronting the Exchange. 

In spring- tides, the water, it is stated, rises thirty feet ; in 
consequence, wet and dry docks are much required for the 
facilities of commerce. Previous to our ^Revolution, the com- 
merce of Liverpool with America was very extensive and 
important. Canals connecting it with various points in the 
interior are already constructed, and others are projected. 
On this point, they are deeply indebted to the enterprise of 
the Duke of Bridgewater, and the genius of 
Brindley.* Like all other projectors, they were 
esteemed wild and visionary in their schemes ; but the result 

* James Brindley was born in 1716, and was early distinguished on ac- 
count of his remarkable mechanical inventions. He served an apprentice- 
ship to a millwright. His wonderful and intuitive genius-soon elevated him 
into fame and consequence, as the inventor of many ingenious and impor- 
tant mechanical improvements and of labor-saving machinery. His power- 
ful mind was at length turned to internal navigation. He was consulted by 
the Duke of Bridgewater, on the subject of his contemplated scheme of run- 
ning a canal from Worsley to Manchester. Brindley declared the project 
practicable, and was employed to perform it. 

At Barton, he proposed to carry it over the Irwell by an aqueduct, at 



188 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1782. 

has proved their wisdom and sagacity. The authors of pro- 
jects designed to advance and meliorate the condition of man, 
are too often sneered at and derided by the multitude, who 
bow down and shout hosannas to a long purse, whilst they 
consign native merit to the gratitude of posterity. 

I disposed of part of the day, in an interesting examination 
of the manufactures and commercial resources of Liverpool. 
The extensive salt-works, which afforded the article of com- 
merce so universally known as Liverpool salt, was an object 
of much interest, and a source of great wealth to the place. 
The water is pumped by machinery and evaporated in large 
pans, and, in some instances, the salt is raised from its bed 
by the same process. 

I returned to Warrington, which presents a very uninter- 
esting appearance, with antiquated buildings and narrow 
streets. I here resumed my carriage, and pro- 
Ctountry Frolic, ceeded toward Manchester, through an interest- 
ing country. Allured by the animating tones 
of a violin, we stopped at a farm-house, and round a country 



an elevation of thirty-nine feet above the surface of the water. The pro- 
ject was ridiculed, as wild and chimerical ; yet, supported by his noble 
patron, he began and accomplished the design. This was the first work 
attempted in England with navigable subterranean tunnels and elevated 
aqueducts. To preserve the level of the water, he carried his canal over 
rivers, and many deep and wide valleys. 

Brindley was subsequently engaged in many other equally important and 
extensive operations. His whole energies were absorbed in his professional 
pursuits. He had no relish for the ordinary relaxations of life ; he was 
once induced to visit a play in London, but declared nothing should per- 
suade him to witness another, as it disturbed his mind, and incapacitated 
him, several days, for business. When any unusual difficulty occurred to 
him, in the execution of his works, he would retire to bed, and sometimes 
ramain there three days till he had surmounted the difficulty. This ex- 
traordinary man was almost mean in his appearance, was uncultivated in 
his manners, and could scarcely read or write, and yet was one of the most 
consummate civil engineers that ever lived. 



1782.] O, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 189 

frolic in full tide, lads and lasses dancing, with all their might 
and hearts, their four-handed reels. I soon mingled with 
them, drank their slops, warmed myself, and took my leave. 
Divested of their broad pronunciation, I could easily have 
imagined myself at a frolic in the bosom of New England ; 
yet one Yankee, in the same sphere, possesses more mother- 
wit than half this circle. I believe this remark may be 
made with justice, in reference to a large mass of the rural 
population of England. 

Manchester is very conspicuous as a manufacturing city. 
The manufacture of cotton, in every variety of Manchester# 
fabric, forms its most important business. The 
introduction of machinery, has wonderfully facilitated the 
processes of this work. They perform, by this means, almost 
the entire labor, to the exclusion of thousands of famishing 
poor, who are thus deprived of their ordinary occupation. 
Manchester derives immense benefits from the canal of the 
Duke of Bridgewater and the Leeds canal, which proceeds 
onward to Liverpool. I hope, most ardently, that I may 
live to witness in America the application of machinery to 
these purposes, and the introduction of canals, with all their 
infinite advantages. Manchester is an opulent and elegant 
city, with fine streets and extensive squares. It is one of the 
largest inland cities of Great Britain, containing about thirty 
thousand inhabitants, and is situated at the junction of the 
Irwell and Irk. The city is ancient, but much of it is of 
modern construction. 

I went to Worsley Mills, a distance of seven miles from 
Manchester, to view the stupendous works of Worsley Mills- 
the Duke of Bridgewater, accomplished by the 
surpassing genius of Brindley. The execution of these pro- 
jects was attended with vast expense and hazard, but secured 
to their projectors an immense estate. Not content with 
skimming along the surface, with traversing valleys, and 



190 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1782. 

crossing rivers by their artificial navigation, they decided to 
plunge into the very bowels of a mountain, in pursuit of 
coal. A vast reservoir is constructed at the foot of the moun- 
tain, from which a subterranean tunnel extends, nearly three- 
fourths of a mile, to the coal pits in the heart of the moun- 
tain ; at this point the tunnel divides, and shoots off into two 
branches, of about three hundred yards each, in the midst of 
an immense mass of coal. The tunnel is about seven and a 
half feet high, including three feet of water, and 

Navigation? 11 is six and a half feet wide. The boats which 
navigate it are about fifty feet long, four and 
a half broad, and two deep. The tunnel is occasionally arched 
with brick or stone. The circuit, going and returning by the 
tunnel and branches, is about three miles of dark and subter- 
ranean navigation. Having procured a ticket, we proceeded 
with lighted torches, towed along by the railway. The sen- 
sation that one feels is indescribable, in approaching through 
this gloomy avenue the dark colliers, who were just discern- 
ible by the red glare of their lights, in the region of blackness 
and night. The coal is brought from the pits, in low wagons, 
propelled on a platform to the sides of the boats, which hold 
about eight tons, and, several being connected, are drawn on 
the canals to Manchester and elsewhere. Shafts or funnels 
are opened at intervals, from the top of the mountain, a depth 
of from thirty to forty yards, for the purpose of ventilation. 
These works form an astonishing exhibition of the ultimate 
and certain success of enterprise and genius. 

Leaving Manchester, we proceeded over a mountainous 

road to Halifax, the first bad road I had seen in England. 

Our progress was tedious and uncomfortable. 

Rochdale The church at Eochdale (which, situated in a 

Church. „ . . _ _ _ v / x _ 

Tempest. valley, is encircled by mountains,) stands on 

an eminence that is approached from the town 

by a long flight of stairs. We ascended it, and had an ex- 



1782.] Or, Memoirs of Mkanah Watson. 191 

tensive view of the surrounding scenery, with the moun- 
tains already (October 17th) capped with snow. The air was 
keen and wintry. In ascending the fearful mountain at 
Blackstone-edge, we were assailed, when half-way up, by such 
a pitiless storm of hail and wind, that my apprehensions 
were seriously excited for the safety of the post-boy, carriage, 
and horses. I alighted from the post-chaise, for greater se- 
curity, but could hardly support myself amid the raging of 
the tempest. The atmosphere was wild and squally; and 
whilst this circumstance in some measure obstructed the 
prospect, it added infinitely to the grandeur and novelty of 
this wild mountain scene. A snow storm next attacked us, 
whilst still ascending ; and, in a few minutes, the surround- 
ing hills and mountains held up their heads, as if rejoicing 
in their white mantles. In truth it was, in all its phases, a 
regular transatlantic snow-storm. 

We continued on our way to Halifax, eight miles, travelling 
over a dreary mountain tract; and, as night approached, 
houses began to appear in closer contact, and drawing nearer 
the city, the lights from the villages in the valleys, and along 
the hill-sides, with the solitary rays streaming from the 
numerous farm-houses, gave animation and beauty to the 
scenery. The mountains we had traversed, were filled with 
vast bodies of coal, and bright streamlets were constantly 
bounding down their declivities. Near almost every house I 
noticed tenters, on which were stretched shaloons, kerseys, or 
cloths. The manufacture of these fabrics, was the occupation 
of the spare hands of the cottages. 

The loveliness and repose of the scenes exhibited to us in 
descending the hills toward Halifax, were in- 
describably impressive. At their base, the Scenery! 1 
river Calder gently glides, dividing them from 
another parallel chain of hills upon the opposite side. As 
soon as the moon had disengaged herself from the mass of 



192 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1782. 

clouds which, still hovered about the mountains, and obscured 
her during the evening, she emerged in great beauty and 
brilliancy, tipping the surrounding clouds with a silver 
edging, and then poured her light upon us, — through the 
trees, — upon the hill-tops mantled in snow, and gently touched 
by her tremulous beams the little river, in the valley below. 
Immediately upon leaving this picturesque scene, we de- 
scended a long declivity, and entered Halifax, which is situat- 
ed in a valley, and environed by a circle of 
abrupt hills. Halifax was a considerable town, 
of about six thousand inhabitants, irregularly built, and 
offered nothing remarkable to the observation of the trav- 
eller, except a Clothiers' Hall, which includes five hundred 
rooms. To this mart all the adjacent country bring, on 
every Saturday, all their cloths for sale. The streets and 
tops of the houses were covered with snow, and presented a 
wintry aspect like an American December. 

The road continued rugged and mountainous, until we ap- 
proached Leeds. We journeyed very pleasantly along the 
banks of the river Aire, near which we saw the ruins of an 
ancient monastery. Happily for England, popish institutions 
no longer predominate upon her soil, but in their stead, how- 
ever, the people of England are ground to the 
Kenton. earth by the intolerable abuses of a political 

national religion. To this establishment every 
religious sect is made tributary. The poor farmer, no matter 
to what mode or form of worship his conscience may direct 
him, is compelled to yield one-tenth of his hard earnings, to 
sustain a host of bishops and priests, a class of whom riot in 
wealth and luxury. 

Leeds was a populous commercial and manu- 

Ckftiiers' Hall, featuring city, situated on the Aire. Its inland 

navigation, by the river on the east, and the 

canal on the west, which connects the two seas, confers upon 



1782.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 193 

it great advantages. There was a cloth, fair in this city, twice 
in each week. I attended one of them in their spacious 
Clothiers' Hall. As soon as the Hall bell began to ring, 
each man shouldered his piece of cloth, and took his position 
in a very large room, at the side of tables running parallel 
through the entire length. When the bell ceased, the mer- 
chants entered without noise or confusion, and passed through 
the room, inspecting the cloths. They whispered their price 
in the clothier's ear, and thus, with privacy and dispatch, and 
without a knowledge of each other's business, a traffic amount- 
ing to from fifteen to thirty thousand pounds sterling was ac- 
complished in an hour. 

I spent the evening in a large and elegant circle, at the 
mansion of a gentleman to whom I brought letters. I per- 
ceived, to my astonishment, that the group were warmly and 
openly American in their feelings, whether selected in com- 
pliment to me, I know not, but I really felt 
myself as if in the midst of my rebel friends sentiments, 
in America. I observed, during my prog- 
ress in England, that the popular feeling upon the subject 
of American affairs, appeared to run in a sympathetic vein. 
In one locality, I remarked the prevailing sentiment to be 
deeply and inveterately hostile, whilst in another our cause 
was almost universally cherished, and advocated with the 
most decided,, cordial, kind feeling; but our enemies, and 
even the Tories, treated us with much more respect after the 
recent and decisive events. In general, I avoided politics. 

I determined, October 22d, from the general aspect of the 
weather, to abandon my projected tour to Scotland, and to 
turn my face again toward sunny France. 

On approaching Sheffield, I was agreeably suprised by a 
sudden view of this large manufacturing city, 

1-1 tl ?, „ . , .i ,' Sheffield. 

which rests upon the side of an opposite hill, 
and appeared to great advantage, although half immerged in 
9 



194. Men and Times of the Revolution; [1782. 

coal dust and smoke. We descended a long declivity, and 7 
crossing a bridge over the Don, entered the city by a steep 
ascent. 

I here found a precious packet of letters from friends in 
Europe and America, affording the sweetest solace to a way- 
worn and solitary sojourner. In the evening, I attended the 
play, with a party to whom I had been introduced by my 
letters. The audience was thin ; the actors, bad ; and in 
truth, this people appeared too much absorbed in their manu- 
factures, to encourage or participate in amusements. 

After devoting two days to examining the interesting 
manufactories and hydraulic works of Sheffield, we left that 
city, and travelled by moonlight to Matlock. Sheffield is 
situated at the confluence of the rivers Don and Sheaf, and 
contained about thirty thousand inhabitants. The land in 
the vicinity commands a high rent ; the farmers make exten- 
sive use of an excellent fertilizer, formed by bones and horn 
shavings, pulverized by grinding. 

The road passed along the borders of the little river Der- 
went, amid a range of craggy mountains. The post-boy gal- 
loped off at a rapid rate upon the edge of precipices, through 
narrow defiles, and under rocks impending over us. This 
rugged avenue, combined with the murmurings of the river 
below, among rocks and rapids, and the effect of the moon- 
light glimmering upon the various points of the scene, pro- 
duced one of the most romantic and curious associations I 
have ever known. We drew up in front of a long building, 
planted in the midst of the mountains. I soon introduced 
myself into the room where were assembled the sad relics of 
a brilliant summer company, which had resorted to this cele- 
brated bathing-place, and had been dispersed by the frosts of 
autumn. I spent one day, perched upon this mountain rock. 
The scenery was grand and imposing, the view rangiug over 
several counties. At the foot of one of these mountains, I 



1782.] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 195 

entered a lead mine, penetrating with my guide, who bore a 
torch, one thousand yards, which brought us to x 

a point directly under the top of the moun- 
tain, towering five hundred feet over our heads. Here the 
miners were at work, wearing out a wretched existence. The 
atmosphere was damp and confined, although ventilated by 
shafts. 

The mountains in the vicinity of Matlock abound in a great 
variety of the most curious petrifactions, which 
are converted into many highly polished and p^trifadiions. 
beautiful ornaments. Singular stones also are 
often found in this region, and, when polished, they exhibit 
neat and striking landscapes. I prevailed upon the head 
workman to accompany me in search of some of them, and 
was fortunate enough to discover one, that apparently was, 
after being polished, the picture of a beautiful rural scene, six 
by twelve inches in size, presenting a view of a river, with 
three small islands covered with trees. In another view was 
displayed a variegated scene of hills, with trees in rich foliage, 
and with clouds. This strange vagary of nature was seen by 
Doctors Priestley, Franklin, and many other persons, who all 
pronounced it a wonderful natural curiosity. I brought it 
with me to America, and presented it to one of our literary 
institutions. 

In the evening, I enjoyed a refreshing bath. The water is 
of the temperature of new milk. The bath is lined with 
polished white marble. 

In journeying toward Derby, we wound up a long hill, to 
a great height, and then gradually descended 
into a level country, highly improved, laid off 
in regular lots, here and there occupied by clusters of trees, 
or devoted to gardens, but generally covered with cattle and 
sheep, checkering and animating the landscape. After trav- 
1 ersing this extensive and luxurious plain, we entered the 



196 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1782. 

city of Derby. I devoted some time to exploring this in- 
teresting city, and examining, in the suburbs, a silk manu- 
factory, on an extensive scale. It employed two hundred 
persons, who tend one hundred thousand movements, all pro- 
pelled by a single water-wheel, which revolves three times in 
a minute, and at each revolution works upwards of seventy 
thousand yards of silk, ready for the warp. There was also, 
in this city, a large porcelain manufactory, which made a 
very admirable imitation of China porcelain : the blue and 
gold coloring was executed with exquisite beauty and per- 
fection. 

On my return to Birmingham, I again enjoyed the courte- 
ous and refined hospitalities of my friend, Mr. Green. During 
my sojourn, I visited Hagley, the seat of many of the extra- 
ordinary exploits of the younger Littleton. There he made 
his remarkable exit from life, under circumstances which are 
the constant theme of conversation. We made a trip also to 
the seat of the Earl of Ferrers, the relation of the wife of my 
friend. Mr. Green assured me, that at this house he in- 
troduced the unfortunate Major Andre to Miss 
Ssfw^d.* Seward, afterward so well known for her 
genius, her connection with Andre, and her 
sorrows. Whilst in Birmingham, I enjoyed much inter- 
course with Doctor Priestley and Mr. Watt, and felt my 
mind elevating and expanding under its influence. 

I left Birmingham, on the 10th of November, for London, 
by way of Bristol and Bath, and passed through a charming 
agricultural region, and many cities and towns fraught with 
interesting associations of the past, and filled with objects 
claiming the attention and examination of a stranger. 

Broomsgrove was a large town, in which the 

Worcesfer! Ve ' linen trade was extensively conducted. We 

next entered the fine city of Worcester ; neat, 

well built, admirably paved, and situated in a valley on the 



1782.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 197 

Severn river. Many of its public and private edifices are very 
elegant structures. Its manufactures were chiefly gloves, car- 
pets, cloths, and porcelain of a a inferior quality. Riding fif- 
teen miles further along the banks of the Severn, 
we reached Tewkesbury. Travelling on both 
sides of the river, amid spacious orchards of apples and pears, 
I could scarcely divest my mind of the idea, that I was jour- 
neying over the most highly cultivated districts of New Eng- 
land. At this place, the river Avon enters the Severn. 

Gloucester is another important town, through which we 
rapidly passed ; and we reached Bristol at about ten o'clock 
in the evening, utterly exhausted with fatigue, after riding 
eighty -nine miles over, in many parts, a rough road, and in 
an open, pounding stagecoach. I devoted the forenoon to 
the delivery of my letters, and to an examination of the city. 

Bristol is built chiefly in a vale, surrounded by pleasant 
eminences ; it stands upon a narrow, but very deep river, 
which admits to the bridge vessels of one thou- 
sand tons. The quay was a mile in length and Bnmdon Hill, 
very spacious ; the cranes in use upon it were 
very ingenious, and well calculated to economize labor in 
loading and unloading vessels. The dry and floating docks 
were also great conveniences, one of the latter, two miles be- 
low the city, would contain one hundred and fifty ships. 
Bristol had about sixty thousand inhabitants, and embraced 
twenty sugar-houses, and numerous manufactories, which gave 
employment to all the surplus hands not engaged in com- 
merce. In the American maritime cities, a large proportion 
of the inhabitants eat the bread of idleness, from the absence 
of manufactories. Early the ensuing morning, I proceeded 
on foot to Brandon Hill, near the celebrated hot-wells bath- 
ing-place. At this point, I had a glorious view of the city 
and adjacent country, — hills and towers, — Bath, — the "Welsh 
mountains, and the Avon. I descended from the hill to the 



198 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1782. 

hot- wells, a fashionable summer resort. Music was here dis- 
coursed, every morning. The water is warm, and very effi- 
cacious in nervous and scorbutic diseases. Ascending, from 
the bath, another lofty pinnacle, I discovered ships at anchor 
in King's Roads, and others sailing apparently at the foot of 
the hill, and I had a wide distant view of South Wales. 
Between Bristol and Bath, the country which stretches along 
the borders of the Avon is delightful. 

I approached Bath in the evening, riding along the banks 
of the Avon. The lights glowing in front of the splendid 
crescent, presented an enlivening scene, for 
Bathing. some miles before I entered the city. I re- 

mained several days, -filled with delight, in the 
gay circles of Bath. It is large, magnificent, and almost en- 
tirely sustained by the fashionable and opulent, who resort 
here, allured by its celebrated waters. The city is principally 
built upon the declivity of a hill, gradually descending to- 
ward the river Avon. Many of the public and private edi- 
fices were truly elegant and imposing. Public and private 
baths abounded in every part of the town. At the King's 
bath, the buildings are constructed on a scale of gorgeous 
magnificence and splendor. An obelisk, seventy feet high, 
rises from the centre of the bath, having recesses and seats at 
the base, to accommodate those who are boiling out their va- 
rious disorders. Strange to relate, after performing this ex- 
purgatory office, the same water is pumped up and drunk by 
the diseased, in the room which overlooks the bath. This 
bath is sixty-five by forty feet, and is surrounded by apart- 
ments containing small rooms, with steps conducting into 
the water. 

In these rooms, persons of both, sexes were equipped in 
proper dresses, and. indiscriminately descended from them 
into the bath, and walked about in the water upto their 
necks. The Bath Guide has it : — 



1782.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 199 

" 'Twas a glorious sight to behold the fair sex, 
All wading, with gentlemen, up to their necks." 

I looked down from the pump-room into the bath. The 
heat of the water produced a vapor, which, gathering over 
the heads of the bathers, partially hid them from view ; but 
an occasional puff of wind would present to me a most sin- 
gular and ludicrous spectacle : old and young, matrons and 
maidens, beaux and priests, all promiscuously wading and 
splashing in the bath, a band of music the while playing some 
solemn march or exhilarating dance. 

At my lodgings I found my highly esteemed and distin- 
guished friend, Henry Laurens, whom I had not been able 
to rejoin since our separation at Nantes. I was at his own 
apartments the day after, when he received a packet from 
London, announcing the death of his gallant 
son, Colonel Laurens, who had been killed in o^e?Laurens. 
a skirmish near Charleston, South Carolina. 
The intelligence burst upon him with the force and sudden- 
ness of a thunderbolt. At first, his faculties seemed to be 
crushed and paralyzed ; his philosophy forsook him, and he 
abandoned himself to the agonies of a bereaved father. His 
anguish no human means could mitigate, and I could only 
yield him my tears and my sympathies. After a few days, 
he became more calm and submissive, and proceeded to Lon- 
don, where I engaged to meet him. 

Leaving Bath, I returned to London. We passed Devizes, 
a large town, in the market-place of which, the 
magistracy have caused to be erected a monu- 
ment, commemorative of a striking interposition of Divine 
judgment. A woman purchased some commodities in the 
market, and upon payment being demanded, an altercation 
ensued, when she uttered the imprecation, " May Grod strike 
me dead, if I have not paid it." She fell down, and imme- 
diately expired ; and in the clenched hand, which she had 



200 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1782. 

impiously raised to Heaven, to attest her perjury, was found 
the money in controversy. I afterward knew in America a 
gentleman of great respectability, a native of Devizes, who 
assured me that he was an eye-witness of this memorable 
judgment and remarkable coincidence. Let skeptics deny, 
and philosophers deride ; facts like this bear fearful and 
powerful witness to the interposition of an Omniscient God 
in the affairs of man. 

We next reached Marlborough. This town consisted of 
one broad street, containing about five hundred inhabitants, 
^ „ , and yet sent two members to Parliament, whilst 

Rotten Boroughs. *» 1 • i t •• -1 • -i 

many 01 their large modern cities were deprived 
of all representation. The Eotten Borough system of Eng- 
land is one of the most corrupt and adhorrent features of their 
political institutions. 

From Marlborough I proceeded through Hungerford, the 
spacious town of Reading, and Maidenhead, to London, where 
I was rejoiced to find Mr. Laurens, surrounded by kind and 
sympathizing friends. In this circle was the celebrated Ed- 
mund Burke, to whom I was introduced by Mr. Laurens. 
Mr. Burke treated me with much polite and cordial attention, 
and invited me to attend the approaching debates in Parlia- 
ment. He had a noble and dignified countenance ; his lan- 
guage, even in common conversation, flowed in a copious 
stream of pure and elegant diction. As an American protege 
of Mr. Laurens, I found myself moving at once in the high 
circles of the metropolis. Dining on one occasion at Mr. 
Vaughan's, the father of the secret negotiator at Paris, I met 

a brilliant circle, and among them the Earl of 
Effingham. Effingham, at whose side I was seated at table. 

The Earl was emphatically a friend of America, 
and his name had resounded through our continent, for the 
early and decisive course he adopted in the house of Lords, 



1782.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 201 

in our vindication and support. Congress, in gratitude, 
named a frigate the " Effingham." 

In moving among the nobility of England, I have been 
astonished to discover so much ignorance and 

, , 1 i -i • English Nobility. 

vulgarity, m the same class that exhibits so 
much that is exalted and ennobling in the character of man. 
With a few admirable exceptions, the distinction is vast and 
obvious, between those noblemen of nature, who, by the force 
of native energy and greatness, have attained that eminence, 
and those creatures of accident, who are noblemen by inherit- 
ance. 

I had the pleasure of breakfasting, in a familiar manner, 
with Mr. Burke, the distinguished author, eloquent orator, 
and accomplished statesman. He was, even in the ordinary 
intercourse of life, a most extraordinary man. I felt my own 
insignificance in his presence; but, as he conversed freely, I 
was rather a listener than speaker, and was relieved from the 
necessity of revealing my powers, in contrast with those of 
this intellectual giant. In my checkered life, I have often 
been brought into intimate intercourse with great and accom- 
plished men, and have always found myself at ease and 
self-possessed; yet, the glare of this transcendent luminary 
humbled and.embarrassed me. With Dr. Frank- 
lin, always kind and familiar, I could hold con- J£; Burke 1 . 111 ' 
verse as with a venerated father; but, Burke 
seemed a being of another sphere. He had ever been a de- 
voted friend to America, and in co-operation with Fox, 
Sheridan, and Conway, has been the primary cause of wrest- 
ing from the reluctant King a decision to recognize our 
Independence. 

The Earl of Ferrers presented me with a card of admission 
to the House of Lords, on the occasion of the . „ m , 

Prince of VV riles 

delivery of the King's speech. At the Opera, I 
met the Prince of Wales, the heir-apparent to the throne. He 
9* 



202 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1782. 

is elegant and dignified in his appearance, but debauched and 
profligate in his private life. During the inter- 
Eii^iand. 0f hides, I walked in the promenade near his 

person, contemplating the features of one who 
would probably soon wield a mighty influence over this great 
nation, for evil or for good. What destiny awaits this power- 
ful nation ? was a question that often occurred to my mind. 
All mighty empires have their epochs : savage in their origin ; 
civilized, potent, warlike, luxurious ; and finally sinking into 
decay and imbecility. Is such to be the fate of Britain ? — 
and this man to be an agent in accelerating her downfall ? 
The Opera, although formed of foreign material, and puffed 
by fashion, was not congenial to the habits or 

The Opera. . 

genius of the English. The stage dances of the 
English, and indeed all their dances, (although a mania per- 
vaded every city and village in England to possess an elegant 
ball-room,) bear no comparison with the gay and lively 
movements of the graceful French. To me, an opera is a 
most insipid jargon of nonsense. The music and singing are 
unintelligible and an unnatural affectation, a jumble of musical 
sounds, grating to my American ear. 

Soon after my arrival in England, having won at the in- 
surance office one nundred guineas, on the event of Lord 
Howe's relieving Gibraltar, and dining the same day with 
Copley, the distinguished painter, who was a Bostonian by 
birth, I determined to devote the sum to a splendid portrait 

of myself. The painting was finished in most 
CopSey? by admirable style, except the back-ground, which 

Copley and I designed to represent a ship, bear- 
ing to America the intelligence of the acknowledgment of 
Independence, with a sun just rising upon the stripes of the 
union, streaming from her gaff. All was complete save the 
flag, which Copley did not deem prudent to hoist under 
present circumstances, as his gallery is a constant resort of 



1782.] O, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson, 203 

the royal family and the nobility. I dined with the artist, on 
the glorious 5th of December, 1782, after listening with him 
to the speech of the King, formally recognizing the United 
States of America as in the rank of natioos. Previous to 
dining, and immediately after our return from the House of 
Lords, he invited me into his studio, and there with a bold 
hand, a master's touch, and I believe an American heart, 
attached to the ship the stars and stripes. This was, I imagine, 
the first American flag hoisted in old England* 

At an early hour on the 5th of December, 1782, in con- 
formity with previous arrangements, I was conducted by the 
Earl of Ferrers to the very entrance of the 
House of Lords. At the door he whispered, 
"Get as near the throne as you can; fear nothing." I did 
so, and found myself exactly in front of it, elbow to elbow 
with the celebrated Admiral Lord Howe. The Lords were 
promiscuously standing, as- 1 entered. It was a dark and 
foggy day ; and the windows being elevated, and constructed 
in the antiquated style, with leaden bars to contain the dia- 
mond-cut panes of glass, increased the gloom. The walls 
were hung with dark tapestry, representing the defeat of the 
Spanish Armada. I had the pleasure of recognizing, in the 
crowd of spectators, Copley, and West the painter, with some 



* I brought this splendid painting with me to America, and it is still in 
my possession. It is pronounced, by artists, second to no painting in Amer- 
ica, and has, at their earnest request, been deposited in academies and 
schools of painting, as a study for young artists. Copley assured me that it 
would not, in his own language, — " ripen in forty years ;" and now, after an 
interval of more than half a century, its colors appear clearer and more 
brilliant, than on the day they left the painter's pallet. (1821.) 

This magnificent painting, equal, probably, to any in America, in style 
and execution, — becoming, by age, more brilliaDt in its coloring, and mel- 
lowed and ripened by time, is now at the mansion of Charles M. "Watson, Port 
Kent, Essex County, JST. Y. Copley was the father of Lord Lyndhurst, Lord 
Chancellor of England, and present head of the Tory party. — Ed. 



204 Men and Times of the Revolution ; [1782. 

American ladies. I saw also some dejected American royal- 
ists in the group. 

After waiting nearly two -hours, the approach of the King 
was announced by a tremendous roar of artillery. He en- 
tered by a small door on the left of the throne, and imme- 
diately seated himself upon the Chair of State, in a graceful 
attitude, with his right foot resting upon a stool. He was 
clothed in royal robes. Apparently agitated, he drew from 
his pocket the scroll containing his speech. The 
Speedu^' 8 Commons were summoned ; and, after the bustle 

of their entrance had subsided, he proceeded to 
read his speech. I was near the King, and watched, with 
intense interest, every tone of his voice, and expression of 
his countenance. It was to me a moment of thrilling and 
dignified exultation. After some general and usual remarks, 
he continued : 

"I lost no time, in giving the necessary orders to prohibit 
the further prosecution of offensive war upon the continent 
of North America. Adopting, as my inclination will always 
lead me to do, with decision and effect, whatever I collect to 
be the sense of my Parliament and my people, I have pointed 
all my views and measures, in Europe, as in North America, 
to an entire and cordial reconciliation with the colonies. 
Finding it indispensable to the attainment of this object, I 
did not hesitate to go to the fall length of the powers vested 
in me, and offer to declare them." — Here he paused, and was 
in evident agitation ; either embarrassed in reading his speech, 
by the darkness of the room, or affected by a very natural 
emotion. In a moment he resumed : — " and of- 
United States ° ^ eT ^° declare them free and independent States. 
free and inde- j n -Qms admitting their separation from the 

pendent. D r 

crown of these kingdoms, I have sacrificed 
every consideration of my own, to the wishes and opinions 
of my people. I make it my humble and ardent prayer to 



1782.] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 205 

Almighty God, that Great Britain may not feel the evils 
which might result from so great a dismemberment of the 
Empire, and that America may be free from the calamities 
which have formerly proved, in the mother country, how es- 
sential monarchy is to the enjoyment of constitutional liberty. 
Religion, language, interests and affection may, and I hope 
will, yet prove a bond of permanent union between the two 
countries." 

It is remarked, that George III. is celebrated for reading 
his speeches, in a distinct, free, and impressive manner. On 
this occasion, he was evidently embarrassed; he hesitated, 
choked, and executed the painful duties of the occasion, with 
an ill grace that does not belong to him. I cannot ade- 
quately portray my sensations, in the progress of this ad- 
dress ; every artery beat high, and swelled with my proud 
American blood. It was impossible, not to revert to the op- 
posite shores of the Atlantic, and to review, in my mind's 
eye, the misery and woe I had myself witnessed, in several 
stages of the contest, and the wide-spread desolation, result- 
ing from the stubbornness of this very King, now so pros- 
trate, but who had turned a deaf ear to our humble and im- 
portunate petitions for relief. Yet, I believe that George III. 
acted under what he felt to be the high and solemn claims 
of constitutional duty. 

The great drama was now closed. The battle of Lexington 
exhibited its first scene. The Declaration of Independence 
was a lofty and glorious event in its progress ; and the ratifi- 
cation of our Independence by the King, consummated the 
spectacle in triumph and exultation. This successful issue 
of the American Eevolution, will, in all probability, influence 
eventually the destinies of the whole human race. Such had 
been the sentiment and language of men of the profoundest 
sagacity and prescience, during and anterior to the conflict, 
in all appeals to the people. In leaving the house, I jostled 



206 Men and Times of the Revolution ; [1782. 

Copley and West, who I thought were enjoying the rich 
political repast of the day, and noticing the anguish and des- 
pair depicted on the long visages of our American Tories. 

The ensuing afternoon, having a card of admission from 
Alderman Wool, I attended in the gallery of the House of 
Commons. There was no elaborate debate, but 
Commons much acrimony evinced in the incidental dis- 

cussions. Commodore Johnstone assailed Lord 
Howe's late expedition to Gibraltar, because he had not 
gained a decisive victory, alleging that, with proper effort, 
he might have done so ; when Mr. Townshend defended him 
with zeal and spirit. Captain Luttrell, a naval officer, then 
attacked Fox with much severity, accusing him of treating 
the Navy, in some of his speeches, with disrespect. Fox re- 
plied, with his wonted keen and sarcastic style, in a short and 
rapid speech. Mr. Burke at length arose, and attacked the 
King's Address, of the day before,. in a vein of satire and ridi- 
cule ; he said "it was a farrago of nonsense and hypocrisy." 
Young Pitt, the newly-created Chancellor of the Exchequer, 
replied to Mr. Burke, and handled him with dignified severity, 
imputing to him buffoonery and levity. General Conway 
said, — " The recognition of American Independence was ex- 
plicit and unconditional." 

When the House was about adjourning, Alderman Wool 

came to me in the gallery, and invited me to descend to the 

floor of the house. On my entrance, I was met by Mr. Burke, 

who introduced me as a messenger of peace, to 

Burke, Pitt, Messrs. Pitt, Fox, Sheridan, General Conway, 

1 ox, Sheridan, i i ■ i \ i 

Conway. and other members, grouped together on the 

floor. Mingling thus by a happy occurrence 
of events, with the great luminaries of England, I felt that I 
was occupying exalted and privileged ground. It would be 
preposterous, were I to attempt to decide as to the relative 
merits of these distinguished men. Their acts belong to his- 



1782.] O, Memoirs of Mkanah Watson. 207 

tory, and their high fame to their common country and pos- 
terity. * 

I made a visit to Windsor, the royal residence, situated 
twenty-one miles from London. It will sustain mt , n . 

,J . . . pi • i Windsor Castle. 

no comparison, m point 01 architecture and 
grandeur, or in the splendor of its palaces and gardens, with 
the French palaces and gardens, but in its natural position 
infinitely surpasses them, and, indeed, is unrivalled. The 
town of Windsor is on the bank of the Thames. The castle 
is a venerable fortress, crowning an eminence, within which 
is the royal palace, and two courts, with a tower between 
them. The royal apartments command a view of the terrace. 
The prospect is most delightful ; and the air, pure and invig- 
orating. Pope has exhausted his poetic ecstasies- in describ- 
ing this interesting situation. The road from London to 
Windsor is beautiful and engaging, passing for several miles 
along the margin of the Thames. I walked up the noble 
terrace, which, covered with fine gravel, and always dry, 
affords a charming promenade. It was Sunday, 
and the king and royal family were walking The King and 
here, with a long train of the nobility, in a free Family, 
and unconstrained manner mingling with the 
people. I attended divine service at the King's Chapel, 
which is much inferior, in style and compass, to the royal 

* I find among the documents of Mr. Watson, notes from Lord Shel- 
burne, addressed to him both before and after the Speech of the King, 
Dec. 5th. One of these is couched in the following language : 

u Lord Shelburne presents his compliments to Mr. Watson, and shall be 
glad to see him to-morrow morning between nine and ten. 

Shelburne House, Dec. 9th." 

It has this endorsement, in Mr. Watson's writing: "This card of invi- 
tation from the Prime Minister of England, was written four days after the 
Speech of the King, acknowledging our Independence. The object of the 
interview was to inquire relative to commercial intercourse under existing 
circumstances. " 



208 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1782. 

chapel at Versailles ; the King and the Princesses were pres- 
ent. 

Circumstances again calling me to France, I left London 
on the 12th of December, 1782, and reached 
Paris on the 15th, late at night. About noon, 
on the ensuing day, I was awoke by an earnest debate, in a 
room adjoining mine, and separated only by a folding-door, 
and was surprised to learn that it was the debate of the Eng- 
lish and American commissioners, who, having assembled in 
the room of Mr. Laurens, were discussing the subject of the 
Canadian boundary. The next day I dined at Mr. Adams's, 
in company with the Commissioners, and was 

Treaty of Peace. J J , , , , . . ' 

gratified to learn, that the minor points in con- 
troversy would soon be adjusted, and that a definitive treaty 
of peace would, at an early day, be signed. 

Immediately on my return, I waited upon Dr. Franklin, 
and presented to him a recent London paper, containing a 
particular and detailed account of his death and 
of U Dr. r rrankiin. funeral. He was very much amused, and as- 
sured me that this was the third instance, since 
his residence at Passy, that the London papers had buried 
him alive. My journey from Paris to Nantes occupied three 
days and nights, owing to the excessively bad condition of 
the roads. At the dawn of the second morning, I perceived 
poor La Fleur, reeling and pitching upon his bidet, overcome 
with drowsiness. The bidet is a small, active horse, trained 
to canter from one post-yard to another, in advance of a post- 
chaise, with a servant, or "avant courier," to announce its 
approach, and to prepare a relay of horses. 
Amusing per- Perceiving the condition of La Fleur, and ac- 

sonation ot an . ° . } 

" avant courier." tuated, m part, by compassion, and to gratify 
the whim of the moment, I placed him in the 
carriage, and mounting, myself, the bidet, went off in ad- 
vance, at full speed. In this style I cantered through the 



1782.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 209 

streets of Angers, into the yard of the post-house. The bidets 
are well known on the road they traverse, and I perceived, 
as I passed through the streets, that I attracted more than the 
curiosity ordinarily excited by a courier ; and when I alighted 
in the post-yard, the astonishment of the master and postil- 
lions was but ill-disguised. I could at times overhear the 
remarks and inquiries advanced in respect to my rank, or, 
rather, that of the person whose approach I was supposed to 
announce. I heard some assert, that my master must be a 
Prince of the blood. A little barber, at length, more curious 
or impudent than the rest, approached, and inquired, in direct 
terms, what nobleman I attended. I readily replied, "My 
Lord Bostone." The news flew rapidly in all directions; and 
the populace began to assemble, to see an American lord. I 
hastened upon the back of a fresh bidet, and struck off in a 
quick gallop, on the high-road to Nantes, leaving the court- 
yard just as the carriage with my Lord Bostone approached. 

Upon my arrival at Nantes, among a mass of letters from 
Europe and America, I found the subjoined from Captain 
Demmartin, an officer of the French army, of 
great literary distinction in France, and who, at DenTmartfo! 
a subsequent period, became a general under 
Bonaparte's dynasty. I introduce this letter, to illustrate the 
state of feeling in respect to our Bevolution, and the liberal 
sentiments which prevailed at that time in the French army 
and throughout the French nation, which were daily ex- 
hibited to my observation. 

I supposed at the time, that Dr. Franklin had instigated 
Demmartin to furnish the translation he speaks of, for the 
purpose of animating the liberal sentiments diffusing in 
France, by the promulgation of the events, and a knowledge 
of the principles of our Bevolution. It was by these in- 
fluences, acting upon the seed scattered by the writings of 
Voltaire, Bousseau, and others, and the spirit of liberty in- 



210 Men and Times of the Revolution. [1782. 

troduced by the French army, on its return from America, 
that the elements of the French Kevolution were matured 
and quickened : 

" Nancy, Lorrcvine, Dec. 30, 1782. 

" My Dear Sir : — The hurry of my affairs, since my return to Lor- 
raine, has hindered me from making my best thanks ; for I owe to 
your letter of civility the kind reception of your excellent Dr. Franklin. 
I have been so happy as to dine with him at Passy, and had neither 
sufficient eyes nor ears to admire and listen enough to that noble and 
learned man, who has acted so considerable a part in the Revolution of 
your country. 

"I consulted his Excellency, upon my design of translating the His- 
tory of the Revolution in North America. He showed me the first two 
volumes, already printed in French ; but he informed me another and 
more elaborate history was soon to be published in America, which 
would be superior, both in exactness and in exhibiting the order of 
events. 

" As you know, my dear Sir, that it was not in my power to employ 
my sword in the service of your country, I desire to indulge myself in 
the pleasure of giving to my own country notice of the great events 
performed in a cause so illustrious. 

" The names of your heroes are known and famous throughout the 
world, and will live in the memory of posterity, as long as noble spirits 
and magnanimity are honored by mankind. It will be deeply interest- 
ing, to exhibit to the politician the events and incidents which prompted 
the Revolution, and the means which accomplished it ; and to the mili- 
tary, the art of disciplining raw recruits, ill furnished with arms and 
material, and yet enabled, in a few months, to cope with and achieve 
victories over veteran, accomplished, and well-armed troops, as much 
by their own gallantry, as by the wisdom of their generals, in the face 
of internal factions. 

" You will add to the obligations I am already under, by sending me 
a copy of the work referred to, as soon as it shall be published in 
America." 

" Ja. De Demmartin. 

" Mons. Watson, Nantes." 




Bathing at Margate. Pags2l-t 



CHAPTEE VIII 



The city of Nantes is situated on the river Loire, about 
thirty miles from its mouth. In the ancient section of the 
city, the houses are four and five stories high, 

Y . , i City of Nantes. 

each story projecting over the lower, as they 
ascend; so that, in narrow streets, the attics approach very 
near, excluding the sun in a great measure, and rendering 
their ill-paved streets dark, muddy, and damp. This awk- 
ward and absurd mode of building cities, universally pre- 
vailed in Europe, two centuries ago, but is now entirely 
exploded. The modern houses in Nantes, fronting the river, 
and upon the public squares, are most splendid edifices, con- 
structed generally of white hewn stone. I have never heard 
the cry of " fire," (so appalling in English and American 



212 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1783. 

cities,) during my residence in France. Indeed, it would be 
no slight effort of skill, for an incendiary to accomplish his 
work in a French house. The inner and outer walls, and 
stairs, are formed of stone, the roofs are slate or tile, and the 
floors brick, or formed of a composition that is incombustible. 

The internal trade of Nantes is very productive ; the do- 
mestic manufactures, which are very extensive and valuable, 
occupy all the surplus hands of the community. There are 
several convents in the city, and also an Institution where 
husbands have the power of confining wives guilty of in- 
fidelity. 

Near the venerable Cathedral, there stood a Eoman tower, 
which the corporation of the city found ex- 
pedient to demolish. I witnessed the first at- 
tempts, and saw it blown to pieces with powder, like a solid 
rock. The Eoman mortar was so excellent in its composition, 
as perfectly to incorporate with the stone, and to form an 
entire and infrangible mass. I observed that, in blasting this 
tower, the fracture was oftener through the solid stone, than 
at the seams or junctions. 

In the large cities of France, few families occupy more 
than one story ; the stairs wind from story to story, and are 
as common and as dirty as the adjacent street. Although in 
the habit of perpetually passing those who live above and be- 
low you, under the same roof, you may reside there for years, 
without a knowledge of even their names. 

Having adjusted all my affairs, and determined my plans, 
I bade a final adieu to Nantes, on the 30th March, 1783, I 
met, on the confines of the city, my faithful La Fleur, my 
companion in many trying scenes, and my devoted servant 
for several years. He was in waiting, to take his farewell ; 
and I parted from him with deep emotion. 

We stopped at Versailles, to examine the royal palace, and 
had an opportunity of seeing the King and Queen departing 



1783.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 213 

for a hunt, attended by huntsmen, horses, and hounds. We 
rambled over the palace and grounds, viewing ^ , tx 

. ., . -, ?.-! •• •> Royal Hunt. 

with interest the numerous exhibitions of taste, 
luxury, and magnificence. On the road to Paris, we per- 
ceived a cloud of dust in the distance, and were soon met 
by couriers, following each other in rapid succession, to an- 
nounce the approach of the hunt, and to clear the road. 
We instantly drew up, in accordance with etiquette, and dis- 
mounted to witness the sport. The affrighted deer soon ap- 
peared at its greatest speed, approaching us in the road ; the 
King close at its heels, with all his train in full cry. Within 
twenty feet of us, the deer bounded over a hedge, and darted 
off in a new direction. This move in the chase brought his 
Majesty very near to us ; he seemed much animated and ab- 
sorbed in the chase. He was attired in a lace cocked-hat, 
short coatee, and heavy boots and spurs. Quickly dismount- 
ing, he cried out in a loud voice, " Vite donnez moi un che- 
val frais," instantly remounted, and sprang over the hedge, 
followed by his retinue.* We lost sight of the chase, and 
could only hear the sound of the hounds and horns gradually 
sinking upon our ears. 

During the spring of this year, the National Bank of 
France was, by a royal decree, ordered to suspend payment 
for one year. The army and navy bills on the government 
had been made payable at this Institution, and the distress 
and prostration of commercial affairs, which 
resulted from this measure, were universal and SSress Cial 
most disastrous. In common with all other 
Americans whose business connections were complicated 
with French fiscal operations, our house was overwhelmed 
by the effect of this ordinance, and I returned to London, in 
the summer of 1783, prostrated and impoverished. 

In September, I visited Margate, the fashionable resort for 
bathing. The town is small, but spread over an extended 



214 Men and Times of the Revolution. [1784. 

surface, being built in the form of an amphitheatre. It en- 
joys a fine view, and the advantage of a free 
BatSng.' circulation of the fresh invigorating sea-breezes. 

I was amused at the mode of bathing at Mar- 
gate ; horse carts are constructed for the purpose, form- 
ing, with canvas, a very convenient and private apartment, 
provided with chairs, a table, looking-glass, and other neces- 
sary appliances. At the end of the cart, steps are formed, 
which descend into the water. The bather embarks, and the 
cart is driven into the sea, and backed toward the ocean. 
These vehicles are stretched along, side by side, in a line ; 
the bathers descend the steps, or plunge from them into the 
water. They make, it is said, sometimes ludicrous, if not 
serious mistakes, in regaining their respective carts. 

Invited by a kind friend, who sympathized with me in my 
affliction, to accompany him in a tour to the Isle of Wight 
and South of England, I left London in March, 1784, for 
that purpose. 

Portsmouth is the principal depot for the English Navy. 

It has a noble and capacious harbor, protected on the south 

and west by the Isle of "Wight. I saw several 

Pons™ Uth ' sM P s of tlie line at anchor in the harbor and 
at Spithead ; and the top -gallant masts of the 
" Eoyal George" projecting above the water. Portsmouth is 
built upon a peninsula, and was then esteemed the best forti- 
fied place in England. Gosport, which contained the Mili- 
tary Hospital, is situated upon the opposite side of the port. 
We examined every thing of interest at Portsmouth, and at 
Portsea nearly adjoining, where we inspected the extensive 
naval arsenal. Here lie the sinews and power of old England. 
The country still wore its winter drapery. As we ap- 
proached Portsmouth, a most extensive and exhilarating 
view of the city was revealed to us, with the harbor studded 
with ships, and in the distance that ocean-gem, the Isle of 



1784.] Or } Memoirs of Mkanah Watson. 215 

Wight. At this place, we embarked on board a miserable 
passage boat. In our transit to the Isle, we ran along side 
several of the ships at anchor, passed Cellshot 

n -, i Piii 1 I 9le of Wight. 

Castle, at the entrance 01 the harbor, and pro- 
ceeded under a brisk gale along the coast to Cowes. I ob- 
served numerous country seats, and was charmed with the 
appearance of the Isle of Wight, its gently sloping hills de- 
scending toward the sea, and evidently in a superior state of 
cultivation. We remained on this lovely island fourteen 
days, making daily excursions on horseback, in different 
directions ; but the season and the weather limited our ram- 
bles. Cowes is the stopping haven for American vessels, 
seeking the most advantageous European markets : here 
they wait for orders. 

Newport is the capital of the island. It is built upon a 
plain, encircled with hills ; the houses are neat and pretty ; and 
the population is about twenty-five hundred. 
In the vicinity of Newport still stands, upon a Newport. 
lofty hill, the venerable castle of Carisbrooke, Castle. 
rendered famous by the treacherous reception 
and delivery of Charles I. The island is generally broken, 
especially on the south. From the summit of a steep hill, 
we had a fine view of the channel, enlivened by ships sailing 
in every direction. I was gratified to perceive, among their 
waving flags, the proud stripes of America, now in their in- 
fancy ; but if I mistake not, destined, in the next century, to 
be borne in triumph through the domains of Old Neptune. 
Scarcely a tree was to be seen upon the island, save fruit 
trees and those of ornament. It was totally stripped of the 
livery of Nature, but was remarkably healthy and pleasant, 
celebrated for its agricultural productions, excellent sheep, etc. 

We passed, in a gale, from the Isle of Wight to Southamp- 
ton, in an open packet-boat. This city contains about seven 
thousand inhabitants, and is environed with ancient fortifica- 



216 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1784. 

tions and Eoman towers. The same evening, we reached the 
venerable city of Salisbury. A small river runs through the 
town ; and from it flowing streams are con- 
Tho S Cathedrai. ducted along many of the streets. In summer, 
these streamlets necessarily have a cooling and 
healthful influence upon the atmosphere. I spent a long 
time, the next day, in exploring a noble cathedral, which is 
pronounced one of the most perfect and magnificent speci- 
mens of Gothic architecture in England. 

About two miles north of Salisbury, lie the venerable 
ruins of old Sarum. Although it contains no inhabitants, it 
sends two members to Parliament ; it has hap- 
Eotten r Borough. P ene( l, that one man exercised the franchise 
which elected the two members. Six now 
hold the poll under a tree ; while some of the most populous 
cities of England are deprived of all representation. What 
an outrage upon common sense, as well as political justice 
and equality ! This is with emphasis called a Eotten 
Borough. Such incongruities demand a radical change ; a 
revolution, if need be, although it may pass through the 
confines of blood. If abuses such as these cannot be cor- 
rected by pacific means, to purge and purify this noble na- 
tion, a temporary sacrifice must be made for the welfare of 
millions yet unborn. 

On Salisbury plains are fed the choicest flocks of sheep in 
England. They are guarded by shepherds and well trained 
dogs. The country between Salisbury and Plymouth was in 
all the exuberance of high tillage and beauty ; abounding 
in cattle and fine sheep, and adorned with hedges and costly 
mansions ; but destitute of forests and white cottages to cheer 
and enliven the face of the country. 

Plymouth is situated at the bottom of a spacious bay. The 
harbor is more exposed than that of Portsmouth, but affords 
a safe anchorage. At its mouth stands Eddystone Light- 



1784.J Or, Memoirs of Elkandh Watson. 217 

house, built upon a rock, amid the surges and tempests of the 
ocean, and presents a wonderful triumph of 
human art and energy. Plymouth was well MunPrj^n. 
fortified, and defended against a naval attack, 
by three hundred heavy cannon. Had D'Ovilliers, who in- 
vested this place with his seventy-six sail in 1779, landed 
the sixty thousand men which were on the coast of France, 
ready to be embarked, it is more than probable, that the 
fleet in the harbor would have been destroyed, and other 
momentous consequences achieved. Near Plymouth is situ- 
ated Mill Prison, in which so many suffering Americans 
were confined and oppressed, during the late war. 

I attended, for three successive days, in Covent Garden 
Square, the violently-contested election for Parliament, be- 
tween Fox, Lord Hood, and Wray. It was a 
spectacle of the deepest excitement and interest ; 
but disgraceful, in the outrages and violence constantly attend- 
ing it. I occupied a position near the hustings, upon a tem- 
porary stage, which afforded me a view of every occurrence. 
The candidates, with their immediate friends, were stationed 
in front of a small church, the hustings being enclosed within 
a railway. From my elevated station, looking upon the sea of 
faces, I judged there were assembled within the square, at the 
windows commanding a view of it, and in the adjacent streets, 
twenty thousand spectators, to witness freemen giving in their 
suffrages. The contest had already continued several weeks. 
Instead of the silent dignity that usually characterizes an 
American election, here all was confusion and conflict ; 
bloody noses and broken heads, intimidation and corruption. 
In the midst of the canvass, two self-created armies were seen 
entering the square, at different points ; the one headed by a 
son of Lord Hood, (a captain in the navy,) consisting of 
sailors, and armed with bludgeons ; the other led by a 
champion of Fox, composed principally of hardy Irish chair- 
10 



218 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1784. 

men. They bore banners inscribed with the names of their 
respective candidates. 

The purpose of each party was to secure to its friends ac- 
cess to the polls. These zealous and intelligent champions of 
British liberty and free elections, met with a rude shock 
exactly in front of the hustings. A violent conflict ensued ; 
each party made great efforts to prostrate the standard of its 
opponents. They fought with proverbial English ferocity. 
The excitement instantly spread in every direction; and 
clubs, fists, and canes were in brisk motion throughout the 
crowd. Such a scene I had never witnessed. Victory soon 
declared for the sailors ; the chairmen were scudding through 
every avenue, with the sailors in brisk pursuit. 

The poll was in consequence open exclusively to the friends 
of Hood and Wray. Within two hours, the chairmen, 
strongly reinforced, returned, and a new conflict ensued. I 
saw Fox, in front of the hustings, clapping his hands, and 
shouting with the utmost engagedness. The sailors, in turn, 
were compelled to fly, leaving many of both parties mangled 
and bloody, who were borne into the adjacent houses. A 
French gentleman at my elbow, justly exclaimed, "If this is 
liberty, Heaven deliver my country from it."* 

I was highly entertained, with a conversation between two 
ladies, genteelly dressed, and evidently of a respectable class 
in society, in a coach, near London ; and I record it, as illus- 
trative of the prevailing ignorance, in England, of the people 
and condition of America. One remarked to the other, "I 
have seen a wonderful sight, — a little girl born 
of America. ^ n a pl ace called Boston, in North America : 
and, what is very astonishing, but I pledge you 
my word it is true, she speaks English as well as any child in 



* This was only five years before the bursting forth of the French Rev- 
olution. 



1784.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 219 

England ; and, besides, she is perfectly white !" " Is it pos- 
sible !" exclaimed the other, in no counterfeit astonishment at 
the recital. Many of the people of England suppose us to be 
a nation of Indians, negroes, or mixed blood. 

During several weeks of the summer of 1784, I stopped at 
Highgate, near London. My residence was upon a height, 
which commanded a view of the city, like a picture. In 
front was a diversified scene of villages, gardens, verdant 
meadows, and fields in luxuriant vegetation; and, in the 
back ground, the distant undulating hills of Kent. 

While sojourning at Highgate, I became intimately ac- 
quainted with Wildman, so distinguished 
throughout Europe for his almost magic power wfidman.' 
over bees. He was a gentleman of fortune. 
Wildman would take a hive, and, in an incredibly short time, 
would make the mass of bees quite subservient to his pur- 
pose, in performing many astonishing feats. Among his ex- 
hibitions, I saw him form, by his amazing influence over 
them, a hive, in the shape of a cap, upon his daughter's head. 
In a moment, at the word of command, they were dispersed. 
He was in the receipt of a large income, derived from his 
bees, which he had arranged in glass hives, in various gar- 
dens, near the city of London. 

He invited me to visit him, at one of his principal depots, 
on a particular morning, when, he said, he expected "fine 
sport." I fortunately entered the garden at a critical moment, 
when two or three hives were swarming and intermingling. 
He saw me, and exclaimed. " Run ! run ! I am now exercis- 
ing my highest skill." He stripped off his coat, and dashed 
into the midst of them, crying out to me, " Come up ; they 
dare not hurt you in my presence." Although I confided in 
his assurance, I approached him with caution, apprehensive 
lest I might be stung to death. I saw the bees engaged in a 
terrible conflict, the dead falling like rain-drops. Wildman 



220 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1784. 

was all motion and activity, performing his hocus-pocus opera- 
tions, in the midst of a cloud of bees. At length they sepa- 
rated, filing off to their respective hives. He came up to me, 
all in a foam, like a general from a great battle, saying, " The 
rascals, this time, have given me a great deal of trouble."* 

Circumstances afforded me the control of a few weeks ; I 
decided to occupy them in a tour on the continent, without 
any definite plan as to its extent or course. The brief term 
of twelve months had witnessed the greatest vicissitudes in 
my affairs and position. At its commencement, I was mov- 
ing in the first circles of London, and associating with the 
eminent statesmen and philosophers of England ; at its close, 
I was the victim of misfortunes, and humbled 
fortune. ° f to the dust. Whilst in prosperity and affluence, 

I had kept an open table at Nantes twice a 
week, for French and American guests alternately ; and I 
had my purse constantly put under contribution by clamor- 
ous friends. At the end of the period I refer to, many of 
those who basked in the sunshine of my favor, passed me in 
silence as a stranger. Misfortunes, to such minds, appear a 
crime, and expose the unfortunate to the contempt of the 
despicable, whose abject souls have once bowed to them in 
cringing servility. While in health, and gliding pleasantly 
along the tide of prosperity and happiness, all things bearing 
a cheerful and smiling face, we are prone to forget the source 
of these blessings ; but, deprived of them, and shunned by 
the cold and heartless world, we recollect with anguish' what 
we have been, and, leaning upon a Holier Arm, we are taught 
submission and contentment. Adversity tests our virtues, 
and tries sincerity ; above all, teaching us to look deeply into 
the treacherous volume of the human heart. In these trying 

* An article in the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, under the head of " Wild- 
man," fully explains the instrumentality used in effecting these truly won- 
derful and mysterious performances. (1821.) 



1784.] Or, Memoirs of MJcanah Watson. 221 

scenes, the man of honor and spirit must think and act supe- 
rior to the world. 

Before leaving London, I was induced to combine some 
reflections upon the relative character and interests of that 
metropolis and Paris. The houses in London 
of the better class, are generally three or four London and 

• • -1 -n n n Pans, con- 

stories high, occupied usually by one family ; trasted. 
those of Paris are from five to seven stories, 
each story containing ordinarily one family. The external 
aspect of the buildings of Paris, (which are constructed of 
white hewn stone,) is like the character of their occupants, 
lively and cheerful. In London, the houses, equally charac- 
teristic of their inmates, are of smoked brick, — dark and 
gloomy. The internal arrangement of the latter is more neat 
and elegant, while the palaces and hotels of Paris, its gardens 
and monuments, far excel those of London. In London, the 
streets are clean and spacious, with comfortable side-walks ; 
in Paris, they are narrow and muddy, and destitute of side- 
walks. The London street is paved arching ; that of Paris 
is concave. 

Paris, unequalled for its police, is protected by a horse- 
patrol ; London, by numerous watchmen. Few thefts escape 
undetected in Paris ; in London, you are every moment ex- 
posed to a footpad or pickpocket. The population of Paris is 
civil; and that of London, brutal. The light and fanciful 
character of the French excels in the opera and pantomime, 
while the deep-toned sentiment of the English better sustains 
the blood and horror of tragedy. This peculiarity of the 
English is strongly exemplified by their almost universal 
fondness for pugilistic exhibitions; a practice, alike brutal 
and abhorrent to Christian civilization. The shops and stores 
of Paris far surpass, in beauty, richness, and decorations, those 
of London; particularly in the evening, when dazzlingly 
illuminated. 



222 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1784. 

The lamps of London are more numerous, but badly ar- 
ranged on the margin of the walk, and dimly lighted ; those 
of Paris, suspended over the streets, are much larger, and are 
provided with reflectors ; their light shining upon the white 
buildings, produces a pleasing moonlight effect. Paris is 
awkwardly supplied with water by horse-carts ; London has 
the new river poured in iron conduits along its streets. Lon- 
don occupies one of the most commanding commercial posi- 
tions in the world ; Paris, situated in the interior, is divided 
by a small river, and depends principally upon its canals for 
foreign intercourse. London is sustained by its commerce ; 
Paris, by its manufactures, and the fascinating charms by 
which it allures all nations. 

On the 26th of May, 1784, 1 left London, bound for Holland 
by the way of Harwich. After resisting unsuccessfully the 
villainous exactions of the British revenue offi- 
Hoifand. t0 cers a ^ Harwich, we submitted to their extor- 

tions, and embarked in the evening, on board 
of the packet, bound for Helvoetsluis. On the afternoon of 
the next day, we approached the coast of Holland, without 
having seen it, until very near, from the fact of its lying even 
lower than the Ocean. 

We sailed along the coast of Zealand upon our right, where 
windmills, light-houses, avenues of trees, and distant spires, 
were continually rising to our view. The breeze improving, 
pressed us rapidly forward to the pier of Helvoetsluis, which 
we soon doubled ; and in another instant we 
were in its harbor, with the town directly 
before us. The pier was lined with spectators ; and the first 
object that engaged my notice, was a Dutchman smoking his 
long pipe, his national characteristic. 

The pier is strong, constructed of piles, driven deep into 
the mud, and calculated to resist the utmost impetuosity of 
the waves. The streets are well paved, with small Dutch 



1784.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 223 

clinkers or bricks as hard as stone, which are placed edgewise. 
The town is small but well fortified. The streets are neat in 
the extreme, being daily thoroughly washed. In truth, the 
houses, dress, and every thing around us, bore the impress of 
that peculiar neatness so remarkable in this people. 

The transition had been so sudden and so marked since we 
landed, that I could scarcely realize my position. The archi- 
tecture of many of their old buildings indicates the Spanish 
style, which almost loses the attic story in a narrow peak. 
The women of the lower classes were singularly dressed; 
their caps set tight upon the head ; ,and they generally wear 
enormous common brass ear-rings. 

We crossed the Island of Voorn, over miserable and mud- 
dy roads, to Briel. We could not prevail upon our mulish 
driver to receive the baggage at our quarters, 
although starting within six doors, its removal ftorks'-Nests. 
being a perquisite of the porter's. Placing our 
baggage in one wagon, six of us mounted into another, and 
dragged slowly through the mud. I observed upon almost 
every church immense storks'-nests. These birds enjoy pro- 
tection and security, from a superstitious prejudice in the 
popular mind. The swan is here known as the imperial bird, 
and none but the higher ranks are allowed to keep it. 

In approaching Briel, we passed along an avenue of beau- 
tiful trees across a drawbridge leading over a wide fosse ; 
and then entering the gate, we traversed the best part of the 
city. The Briel is memorable in the history of human liberty, 
as the scene of the first event in the tremendous conflict that- 
severed Holland from the tyranny of Spain. Here a band 
of exiles first planted the standard of revolt, and 
maintained possession of the city, in defiance Duke of Alva, 
of the power of the Duke of Alva. The 
flame thus kindled spread with electric velocity through the 
seventeen provinces, which were soon supported by the great 



224 Men and Times of the Bevolution; [1784. 

William, who was at the time employed in levying forces in 
Germany. The patriots of Holland habitually implored the 
blessing of Heaven upon their efforts, and were animated 
through their fearful struggle by the conviction, that the arm 
of the Almighty was stretched forth as their avenger. Such 
was the prevailing sentiment during the progress of our Bev- 
olution ; and no class of our citizens was more devoted and 
zealous patriots than the clergy of New England. The de- 
scendants of the Hollanders in America exhibited, during our 
Bevolution, the same love of liberty which distinguished 
their ancestors, and were eminent for their patriotic devotion. 
There is a certain unique peculiarity combined with ele- 
gance about the venerable edifices of the Briel, which cannot 
readily be described, that communicates to them a high de- 
gree of interest. The streets are wide and lined with two 
rows of trees, along the banks of the canals, which run 
through their centre. The deep verdure of these ancient 
trees, strongly reflected from the large windows of mirror- 
like glass, which are bright and free from dust, adds much to 
their lustre and richness. A custom prevails here, which 
had an odd appearance, according to my untutored American 
notions. A reflecting glass is arranged upon the outside of 
the most genteel windows, thus affording madam the oppor- 
tunity of sitting unobserved in her own window, and at her 
ease reconnoitering. every thing that occurs in the street. 
It would seem, that the great business of life, in this city, is 
washing and scrubbing, for it is the apparent vocation of all, 
from early dawn to night. 

Ships sailing up the Maese, to Botterdam, pass directly 

under the ramparts of this city. The river is, 
Bdftehlven.' at tllis pl ace > a m ile and a half wide. We sailed 

up the Maese, through a charming country, to 
Botterdam, passing many fine villages, among them, Delfts- 
haven, famous as the birth-place of Van Tromp, the pride 



1784.] Or, Memoirs of ETkanah Watson. 225 

and glory of Holland ; and it will be ever dear and memor^ 
able to the heart of an American as the point of embarkation 
of our Puritan forefathers. The country appeared from the 
deck to be on a line with the water ; and nothing impeded 
our view but the intervening trees. The drooping willows, 
along the margin of the river, seemed as if floating upon the 
stream. A fascinating feature in the scenery of Holland, is 
the numerous ornamental trees, arranged in the most tasteful 
and judicious manner. The reclaimed meadows afford the 
finest pasturage for cattle, which are seen rioting in clover. 

As we sailed along the front of Rotterdam, I admired the 
beautiful effect of the line of trees, planted on 
the margin of the river, standing so thick as to promenade', 
interlace their limbs and mingle their foliage, 
and half depriving us of a view of the most magnificent 
dwellings I ever have seen. Our skipper informed me, that 
the promenade under these trees is eminently attractive, 
and a great resort for the beau monde of Rotterdam. As 
we occasionally glided by an avenue, or an opening among 
the trees, we penetrated, with the help of our glasses, into the 
heart of this lovely city. When I contemplated this singular 
confusion of masts, spires, trees, canals and houses, all jumbled 
together, I was almost led to think that nature and art, in a 
whimsical moment, had combined to plan this enchanting 
compound. All the embellishment and verdure of Holland 
is, however, the creation of the industry and energy of man ; 
and yet old ocean, as if indignant at this usurpation of his 
domain, has often resumed his terrible empire, and over- 
whelmed the land. 

Eotterdam is the second emporium of the republic. The 
harbor is secure from naval attack, but inconvenient of ac- 
cess, on account of its remoteness from the sea, and the 
shallowness of the water. The port is, however, very com- 
modious, and admits, by means of large canals, heavy ships, 
10* 



226 Men and Times of the Revolution ; [1784. 

quite up to the doors of the warehouses, in every part of the 
city. Rotterdam is populous ; the houses are large and ele- 
gant, and constructed with flat ground brick, neatly seamed 
with white. The streets are wide and well paved ; and along 
the canals are broad side-walks, often made of polished white 
marble, in front of the dwellings. 

Walking in a pleasant promenade, under the shade of a 
fine grove, I observed many of the citizens pass on the way 
to their country seats. Their horses are good, but the car- 
. riages are heavy and clumsy ; some of them, I 

observed, were built in the form of triumphal 
cars. The Dutch gentlemen seldom ride on horseback, and 
never without being exposed to the ridicule of the rabble. 
Their habits in this respect singularly contrast with those of 
England. The English pride themselves on their superb horses, 
and are unequalled equestrians ; even the ladies of England 
ride with great courage and elegance, often leaping, at full 
speed, high fences and wide ditches, with infinite spirit. 

We were often puzzled, in the streets, for an interpreter ; 
but we seldom failed to be understood, when we addressed 
persons of genteel appearance, in French. It surprised me 
to discover how universally this language is now spoken 
throughout Europe. Indeed, so far as my own observation 
has extended, it is almost vulgar in the beau monde, to speak 
the native tongue. A knowledge of French is becoming al- 
most the criterion to distinguish a gentleman. A foreigner is 
always addressed in this popular and charming language. 

No two languages bear a greater affinity than Dutch and 
English. When I first arrived in France, it was several weeks 
before I could understand a consecutive French 
Batch and phrase ; but, the moment I landed in Holland, 

Languages. I recognized and comprehended entire sentences, 
English in their structure, but divested of its 
hissing sound. On examining a letter written in Dutch, I 



1784.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 227 

discovered so many words and phrases of English analogy, 
as to have no difficulty in collecting its purport And yet 
the English cockney habitually sneers at what he calls the 
uncouth jargon of the Dutch. 

The John Bull London cockney, of all civilized men, is 
the most national, the most illiberal, and the most ignorant, 
save in his immediate vocation. He tests every thing in na- 
ture and art, by the scale afforded by England, (in his ex- 
clusiveness,) the standard of perfection. Even the fruits of 
America growing ten degrees nearer the equator, suffer with 
him in this comparison. He pronounces our soldiers and 
sailors inferior to those of England ; and yet we have dis- 
covered the secret of relieving them of two entire armies, 
and our gallant tars have almost uniformly beaten them, gun 
for gun. 

The market-place of Eotterdam contains a fine statue of 
Erasmus, who was born here. At the Church of St. Law- 
rence, we ascended a lofty tower, whence an 
extensive view is commanded. The city ap- irasmuf. 

peared like a highly-finished and curious pic- 
ture below us ; and the country beyond, cultivated like a 
continuous garden, furnished a rich back-ground, spotted 
here and there with walled cities, and slightly shaded by two 
or three small forests, and intersected in every direction by 
long lines of blue canals. I know not that I ever passed a 
more pleasant hour, than in thus gazing upon the beauties of 
this wonderful country, which seemed like an enchanted fairy 
land. 

In ranging with our glasses over the extended prospect 
afforded by our elevated position, we encompassed, in our 
view, Delft, Dort, Hague, Briel, Utrecht, and Amsterdam, 
which embrace the best part of the province of Holland. It 
seems beyond the power of the most brilliant and active 
imagination, to conceive of a spectacle more attractive. This 



228 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1784. 

country never fails to impress even Europeans, (habituated to 
superior agricultural cultivation,) with wonder and admira- 
tion ; but the effect is still more powerful upon the mind of 
an American, accustomed to contemplate nature in her wild 
and unadorned state. This is a region of art, moulded by in- 
dustry and labor into beauty and productiveness. 

My heart bounded, when I saw our glorious stripes stream- 
ing among the shipping in the harbor of Rotter- 
dam. Notwithstanding their youth, they are 
forward in introducing themselves into the company of the 
antiquated flags of Europe, which have waved upon the ocean 
until they have begun to fade with age ; but the stars and 
stripes shine with the lustre of a rainbow after a thunder- 
storm. The tempest has subsided ; and a serene repose per- 
vades the nations. In addition to the American ships, we 
observed several large Dutch vessels, freighted to carry over 
to the United States more than one thousand German 
emigrants. 

What a proud satisfaction the consideration affords, that, 
by a bold and arduous conflict, America has opened in 
her bosom an asylum for the oppressed and suffering of every 
nation. This ennobling fact, — -when we reflect on its extended 
effects and probable duration, — is worth all the dangers and 
woes we have endured in the fearful struggle. The perse- 
cuted, under the benign protection of our laws, will find 
security and peace; and tortured virtue and exiled worth, 
through succeeding generations, will find among us refuge 
and defence. I pray God, that our recent fabric may never 
be shattered by the clashing interest of the different States, 
that the Confederacy will pursue its illustrious career, and 
that local views will be nobly sacrificed to the common weal. 
Such were the sentiments and hopes inscribed in my original 
journal. 

The Dutch chimes are so very musical and sweet, that 



1784.] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 229 

I often stopped in the middle of the street, to listen to their 
harmonious notes. The bells are clustered in 

Butch Chimes. 

great numbers, m niches around the towers of 

the churches. In the church of St. Lawrence, we noticed 

graves, from which bones and skulls were protruding. A 

horrid spectacle! An old sexton was busily employed in 

collecting the bones, and arranging them in separate boxes, 

about three feet square, to be re-interred in this compact form. 

This, I find, is the prevailing custom in the ancient cities of 

the continent ; and it is less abhorrent to the human mind, 

than the promiscuous and irreverent mingling 

of them in the piles of the charnel-houses of Admimi Bmakei. 

England. There is a monument erected in the 

church of St. Lawrence, which bears a Latin inscription, of 

the following import : 

"John Braakel, 

The terror of the sea ; to whom 

Fire, earth and water submitted, 

Is covered with this stone. 

His spirit, even now, seems ready to burst into flame, 

And to break from its earthly habitation, 

As he broke the chains of iron." 

I was impressed and pleased with the bold and poetical 
thoughts of this epitaph ; and, on examining the history of 
Holland, I found that Braakel was a Dutch Admiral from 
Harlem, who distinguished himself in a memorial exploit in 
the Holy "War, in 1245. The passage of the Nile, near 
Damietta, was obstructed by an enormous iron chain, which 
Braakel succeeded in severing, by means of an immense saw, 
attached to three of his vessels. The invention was success- 
ful, and the fall of Damietta ensued in consequence. The 
idea was said to have been suggested by a Harlem boy. The 
city has adopted, from that incident, the motto — "Valour 
overcomes power." 



230 Men ana Times of the Revolution; [1784. 

Holland presents the aspect of an extensive cultivated gar- 
den ; but it wants that variety of scenery, so essential to en- 
gage the imagination. England and France are more diver- 
sified and romantic, and are generally under almost as high 
improvement. In each of these countries, we meet, here and 
there, with an artificial forest ; we admire their spacious and 
extended canals, their venerable castles, splendid country 
mansions, large and magnificent edifices, delightful roads, 
and numerous other objects of interest and attraction, which 
allure and fix the attention of an American. When we 
abandon the contemplation of these exhibitions, the results 
of art, and enter upon the broad domain of nature, we find 
her works on this side of the Atlantic but in miniature, con- 
trasted with the vast lakes, the immeasurable rivers, bold 
harbors, giant trees, and lofty mountains of America. 

"We jumped on board of the trekschuit, or packet boat, 
just without the gates of Eotterdam, and were put in motion 
by a single horse, trotting along the embankment of the canal. 
Our boat was a floating house, sixty feet long. 
Trekschuit. T^ e ca bin, which was situated upon the deck, 
was calculated to hold conveniently eight or ten 
persons, who may secure it at a small extra charge. It was 
prettily arranged, with a narrow table, cushioned benches 
and sash windows. The rest of the boat was covered with a 
flat roof, strewn over with small shells or gravel cemented in 
tar, which forms, for the passengers, a pleasant and secure 
foothold. The progress of the boat was exact, being three 
miles an hour. The Dutch compute distances along their 
canals by hours, and not unfrequently by the number of 
pipes smoked. Clouds of tobacco smoke were constantly 
issuing from the little windows attached to the common 
room below us. I was surprised at the dexterity with which 
the boats avoid each other, and pass under the numerous 
bridges. 



1784.] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 231 

The higher classes of the Dutch people reside most of the 
summer at their villas, many of which are constructed on the 
most magnificent scale ; all are neat and pic- 
turesque, and they are generally situated near 
a canal, with a fairy summer-house directly on its banks. 
These houses are comparatively all windows. The gardens 
appeared, as we moved along the canal, picturesque and 
beautiful, not unlike splendid and extended paintings. The 
Dutch seem inordinately attached to evergreens and box; 
many of their summer-houses are enveloped with these ; and 
we often noticed them shaped into grottos, arches, and other 
pleasing and fantastical forms. The fragrancy of the mead- 
ows and flower-gardens enhances, at this season, the pleasure 
of this agreeable mode of travelling in Holland. From the 
top of our boat, we ever and anon caught a transient view of 
the interior of their airy dwellings, where we perceived the 
happy citizens regaling themselves in parties, sipping their 
tea, smoking, playing cards, hearing music, reading, or en- 
joying some other domestic pleasure. I almost envied them 
the calm and delightful repose of their country life. 

Delft appeared to be a pleasant and elegant place, contain- 
ing about twenty thousand inhabitants. It was well defended 
from enemies and the sea, by an old wall and _ M 

. Delft. 

three embankments. The Stadhuis is a state- 
ly, ancient, Gothic structure ; it contains many excellent 
paintings. One that demands particular attention, represented 
the assassination of William of Orange, which was finely exe- 
cuted and affectingly impressive. They pointed out to "us the 
spot where he fell, and a hole in the wall, perforated by the 
ball which had passed through his head. Both the old and 
new churches were noble structures, with lofty spires. The 
chimes were unusually harmonious ; they were in active per- 
formance, as we entered a stupendous pile where rest the ashes 
of the Prince of Orange. In contemplating his magnificent 



232 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1734. 

tomb, my heart swelled with the deepest emotion. The 
struggle of Holland for freedom, so fraught with blood and 
suffering, seemed a type of our own. 

The character of William of Orange; his untiring and 
devoted patriotism ; his stern and unyielding integrity ; his 
fixed and determined purpose, and firm reliance 
Orange? ° f upon the support of Heaven, present the por- 

traiture of our own immortal Washington. 
Their achievements entitle their names to be inscribed in 
letters of light upon the arch of heaven. As these thoughts 
revolved in my mind, standing beside the mausoleum, I felt a 
tear involuntarily start, and my breast heave with the sigh of 
enthusiasm and homage. The Prince's statue, in marble, lies 
upon the top of his tomb, with the effigy of his favorite dog 
at his feet, which, tradition says, died of grief, immediately 
after the death of his master. The succeeding Princes of 
Orange have all been interred in this church. 

Delft was celebrated for its earthenware, and formerly pro- 
duced a fine imitation of porcelain ; but the English have 
eclipsed it in the manufacture of the former, while the 
French have superseded it in the latter. The streets of 
Delft are very broad; two of them extend a mile in length. 
The pavement in front of many dwellings was constructed of 
black and white marble, beautifully inlaid, in fanciful forms. 
We reached the Hague late in the evening ; and, although 
the moon shone brilliantly in the heavens, the 
dense exhalations from the canal obscured our 
view of the adjacent country. The lights from the summer- 
houses glimmering through the mist, had a fine effect. The 
dampness of the evening air in Holland is exceedingly un- 
comfortable, and must prove very unhealthy. The stench ari- 
sing from the canals, as we approached the Hague, was almost 
intolerable. We were astonished at meeting with such a 
nuisance, so near one of the most elegant cities in the world. 



1784.] Or, Memoirs of Elkandh Watson. 233 

I had formed an exalted conception of the splendor of the 
Hague ; but I found, what is so unusual, that the reality far 
surpassed my most ardent imaginings. My first visit of ob- 
servation was to the churches of the city. All 

tv , t 1 -. -. . i t i 1 • , 1 Dutch Churches. 

Dutch churches which 1 have seen, are divested 
of those gaudy ornaments, so common in France and other 
Eoman Catholic countries. The walls of the former are oc- 
cupied by the arms of the principal families, worked upon 
velvet, and encased with broad, black frames. They pres- 
ent the appearance, or at least the idea, of the interior of large 
tombs, and communicate a gloomy air to the spacious apart- 
ment. The ministers were speaking to crowded and atten- 
tive audiences, who all wore their hats. 

From the churches I repaired to the grand parade, where 
the garrison was reviewed by the Prince of Orange, amid a 
great concourse of the nobility and citizens. The troops ap- 
peared soldier-like, and were well drilled. The uniform was 
blue, faced with red. After the parade, I strolled through 
this most magnificent and interesting city. Every thing wears 
the aspect of splendor and grandeur. I called at the hotel 
recently purchased by Mr. Adams for the American govern- 
ment. It is respectably furnished, in accordance 
with Eepublican simplicity ; and it contains a Schevhfgen.' 
fine library, and has attached to it a tasteful 
little garden. I was received in the most cordial manner by 
the Ambassador ; and, in the afternoon, I took an airing with 
him through the most interesting sections of the city. We 
extended our ride to the pleasant fishing-town of Schevingen, 
two miles from the Hague, upon the margin of the sea. The 
weather was fine ; and the roads and avenues were thronged 
with people, all pressing onward, on foot and in carriages, to 
inhale the sea-breezes, and to walk upon the beach. The 
Ambassador's livery is the same as the American uniform, 
and is recognized by all ranks of the citizens, who pay so 



234 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1784. 

much respect to it, that a few more jaunts with him to Schev- 
ingen, would have compelled me to buy a new hat. 

The road was charming, and through its whole length 

shaded by a row of trees on each side, so precisely in lines, 

that we saw the steeple of the village church from the gates 

of the city, through an arch formed by the limbs of the trees. 

The North Sea opened suddenly to our view, 

The North Sea. ' . r -*-r -. 

at the termination 01 the avenue. JNature has 
provided a very effectual barrier against the ocean, in the 
downs, which have been thrown up by the waves, along most 
of the coast of this low country. I remarked the same cir- 
cumstance, on the coast of the Austrian Netherlands. The 
principal and permanent security of the country, however, 
rests upon their artificial dykes and embankments. 

We passed in this route the celebrated gardens of the Count 

de Bentinck, and stopped to examine them. 
ffisGwden^' They are distinguished from other gardens in 

the province, by style, simplicity, and pic- 
turesque views. They had a fine orangery, grottos, water 
spouts, a forest, lake, and hills, in miniature, a terrace walk 
and menagerie. On every side, the eye was fascinated with 
objects of interest and novelty. I spent the evening with 
Mr. Adams, in company with the eminent M. Dumas, who 

made himself conspicuous by his diplomatic 
M r Dumas*' qualities, in the early part of our contest, at 

the court of France, as well as in Holland. 
Communing with two gentlemen of such genius and deep 
learning, I could not fail to collect all the information I was 
eager to obtain, relative to this country and the present con- 
vulsed state of its complicated government. I shall recur to 
this subject, in a succeeding page. 

I visited, the succeeding day, with Mr. Adams, " La Maison 
du Bois," which is situated about one mile from the Hague, 
in the midst of the largest natural forest of Holland. This 



1784.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 235 

place was built by the widow of the Prince Henry Frederick, 
to consecrate and perpetuate his memory. It is an elegant 
structure, and entirely sequestered from the 
gay world, being in a manner embosomed in a Ju Bois.° n 
thick grove, which is penetrated by numerous 
romantic walks, leading from the palace. Over the gate we 
observed the arms of Orange-Nassau. The grand saloon, 
with its exquisite paintings, is the particular object of attrac- 
tion. These were principally the works of the great masters, 
Eubens and Van der Werff, exhibiting, in very large pictures, 
the brilliant triumphs of Frederick Henry, who consolidated 
that fabric of Independence, which was erected by his im- 
mortal father, and vigorously protected by his gallant brother, 
Prince Maurice. Full length portraits of William I. and 
Maurice, are also preserved here, and their marble busts adorn 
the mantel. The floors of this palace were of black- walnut, 
with rich carpets. In one apartment we saw an India ja- 
panned-railing, inclosing the princess's bed, which is inlaid 
with mother-of-pearl, and cost twenty-eight thousand guilders. 
We examined also a splendid painting, forming a flower-piece, 
by a remarkable Flemish master, and another, " Vulcan in his 
Shop," by Eubens. 

Mr. Adams discharged his carriage ; and we occupied an 
hour or two in strolling about the forest. The lofty oaks, 
growing promiscuously together, revived lively recollections 
of American scenery. The trees were alive with birds of 
brilliant plumage, whose sweet melody echoed through the 
woods. In the afternoon we made an excursion to the village 
of Eyswick, situated between the Hague and 

-pw irv Eyswick. Prince 

-Welti, of Orange. 

The road is ornamented with lofty trees, and 
skirted with verdant meadows. This village is memorable 
for the Peace of 1697, concluded here. A palace belonging 
to the Prince of Orange, stood in the environs, elaborately 



236 Men and Times of the devolution; [1784. 

built of hewn stone ; but, at the period of my visit, it was 
rapidly falling into decay. 

The ensuing day was occupied in generally exploring ob- 
jects worthy of attention, in the city; and in the afternoon, 
accompanied by Mr. Adams, I went to Delft. Eeturning, in 
the evening, along the border of the canal, Mr. Adams sud- 
denly espied a child struggling in the canal ; he 
instantly darted forward, and was in the act of 
bounding into the canal to the rescue, when I restrained him, 
as I perceived a lusty fellow already in the water, aiding the 
child. This incident is alluded to by Mr. Adams, in a letter 
to me, dated Philadelphia, December 16th, 1790 : 

" I have this moment received your favor of November 30th ; and the 
volume* inclosed with it, an acceptable present, for which I thank you. 
I have not had time to read it, and therefore can form no opinion of its 
merit. By a kind of * Sortes Virgiliance? I stumbled upon the anec- 
dote of the child drowning in the canal at the Hague, which brought to 
my recollection the feelings by both experienced at that distressing mo- 
ment, which was abundantly compensated by the joy at the unexpected 
deliverance of the little urchin. ***##*##*** 

"My rambles abroad appear to me like a dream, and if your book had 
not recalled the drowning babe, I might never have thought of it again. 
My imagination is always refreshed by the recollection of my walks 
and rides about the Hague, and by those in the ' Bois de Boulogne,' 
which are charming, much more than by the splendid scenes at the 
courts and in cities." 

The lofty position occupied by Mr. Adams in the diplo- 
matic body at this Court, was alike honorable to 
Mr? Adams. himself, and elevating to the American char- 
acter. He was universally esteemed, for his 
deep sagacity and extensive political acquirements. He 
talked but little, but thought profoundly. Conversant, at a 

* "Tour in Holland," printed in 1790. 



1784.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 237 

momentous crisis, "with, the politics of two hemispheres, his 
comprehensive and discriminating mind seemed readily to 
grasp, and intuitively comprehend, all the conflicting ques- 
tions of the day. He did not ape the graces of a Chesterfield, 
but yet had fully attained every important accomplishment of 
the statesman. America was deeply and essentially indebted 
to Mr. Adams, for those important measures, — the extension 
of our boundaries, and the protection of our fisheries. The 
defeat of Sir Joseph York secured the support of Holland at 
a critical epoch. The talents of Mr. Adams, and the stern 
republican simplicity of his character, gave him a powerful 
and peculiar influence in the government at the Hague ; and 
Holland, I then believed, may yet probably be indebted to his 
practical judgment, for suggesting some radical reforms in its 
unwieldy and convulsed system. 

The mind of this devoted patriot was then intently en- 
gaged, in meditating upon the policy, and in promoting the 
glory and power of his country. On one occasion, at the 
Hague, dining alone with Mr. Adams, the dessert upon the 
table, and the servants withdrawn, a long silence ensued. 
He seemed unconscious of my presence ; his eye was fastened 
upon the table ; and his mind, apparently absorbed in a deep 
reverie. This posture of affairs continued so long, as to 
arouse some degree of excitement in my feelings ; and I was 
in the act of leaving the table, when his countenance sud- 
denly flashed and brightened up ; and, turning to me, he ex- 
claimed, with much animation, "Yes, it must be so; twelve 
sail of the line supported by a proportion of frigates. When 
America, my friend, shall possess such a fleet, she may bid 
defiance upon her own coast to any naval power 

n tt, ,j Mr. Adams, 

of Europe." and the 

In connection with this anecdote, I transcribe ^ v encan 

a letter from Mr. Adams, written thirty-four 

years after this period, and containing a familiar and 'play- 



238 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1784. 

ful allusion to my imputing to him the paternity of the 
American Navy. 

" Quincy, April 14, 1819. 

" Dear Sir :— Your letter of the 3d instant, is like the recognizance of 
an old friend, after the separation of several years. 

"Hay no serious claim to the title of Father of the American JSTavy f 
or of any thing else, except my own family. Have you seen the His- 
tory of the American Navy, written by a Mr. Clark, and edited by 
Matthew Carey? I gave the name of Alfred, Columbus, Cabot, and 
Andrew Doria, to the first ships that sailed under the flag of the United 
Colonies. 

" My country has been to me so very capricious and fastidious a 
mistress, that she would never receive my addresses long enough to 
give me an opportunity of becoming a father, legitimate or illegitimate, 
of any child, son or daughter. You have a much better claim to the 
character of father of American Agricultural .Societies. You have 
preached with more success and much better effect. I claim no father- 
hood but that of a family. 

" I have had six children, two of whom Heaven took to itself, in their 
cradles. Four grew up, and had families ; two have departed and left 
children. Two, thank God, yet live. I have now living, two sons, 
fourteen grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. Of this tribe, I 
claim to be a father ; but I assure you, the duties I owe to this little 
flock are greater than I can perform with my utmost exertions. Talk 
not then to me, in future, of any other fatherhood than this ; for my 
capacity is inadequate even to this. I am, Sir, with agreeable recollec- 
tions of our acquaintance in different countries, 

" Your friend, 

"John Adams." 

Hague is situated two miles from the sea. Although it 
was called a village, (from the fact of its not being walled, 
rnl ■ an(i of its sending no deputy to the States,) it 

described. ' enjoyed other advantages, sufficient to place it 
in the class of the first cities of Europe, for 
opulence and luxury. Lord Chesterfield pronounced it 
"the most elegant city in the world." It is environed by a 



1784.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 239 

spacious canal, ornamented with lofty trees. Tlie situation is 
somewhat elevated, and is esteemed healthy. It occupies a 
favorable position, in the heart of a fertile country, surrounded 
by fortified cities and villages, splendid villas, fine gardens, 
and rich meadows. Most of the streets are pleasantly shaded, 
and generally are broad. The houses were many of them 
large and elegant, being chiefly built of hewn stone ; and yet 
scarcely a pebble could be gathered in a natural deposit, in 
the whole Eepublic. The squares are numerous, and planted 
with ornamental trees. The inhabitants- of the Hague are 
-modelled after the Parisians : they are exceedingly polite, en- 
tirely a la Francaise ; seldom speaking their native language, 
and much addicted to dissipation. The ladies generally are 
very handsome and refined. 

The Vyverberg was occupied, on one side, by a range of 
elegant edifices, and opposite to them was a stately row of 
trees ; between these, was a spacious basin of water, formed 
of hewn stone, with a romantic little island in the centre, 
crowned with shrubbery. Near this, is a large grove em- 
bracing a Mall, which is enclosed. 

The Hague is the seat of government of Holland, and of 
course the residence of the diplomatic corps. This gives it a 
glare of splendor and show, which I fear adorns merely the 
surface. The Council of State, the Council of Nobility, the 
Courts of Justice, and every description of national business, 
concentrate at the " Court," the residence of the 
Stadhouder. This was surrounded by a deep HoUand! rt ° f 
fosse, and approached by three draw-bridges, 
where guards were stationed, to raise them, on any emer- 
gency. 

The idea of thus interposing a barrier between the peo- 
ple and their legislators, is totally repugnant to American 
notions of the free debates of a Eepublican Assembly. The 
existence of this fact in Holland, was the more extraordinary, 



240 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1784. 

as history attests the strong and too well-founded jealousy of 
the Dutch, in respect to their Stadhouders. 

The palace is very old, and more remarkable for its vener- 
able aspect than elegance. The great saloon is in the antique 
style, and filled with historical paintings and trophies of vic- 
tories. The chamber of the States General is hung upon one 
side with rich tapestry, ornamented with the portraits of sev- 
eral Stadhouders, and on the other side with many excellent 
paintings. The chamber in which the twelve years' truce 
was established between Spain and Holland, in 1609, still re- 
tained its original ornaments ; the republic is personified by 
a female figure, occupying a position over the mantel. In 
the audience room, there was a fine portrait of William III. 
The Prince's cabinet, on the opposite side of the court, is one 
of the most striking curiosities at the Hague. The collection 
embraced, among other objects of interest, very curious and 
beautiful specimens of precious stones, fossils, minerals, pet- 
rifactions, and every department of inanimate natural his- 
tory. The gallery of paintings, embracing sacred and histor- 
ical pieces, landscapes, and portraits, principally the works 
of Eaphael, Eubens, Holbein and Van Dyke, is eminently 
interesting, and demanded the closest examination. 

The celebrated De Witts, two patriotic brothers, and ene- 
mies to the aspirations of the Prince of Orange, were mas- 
sacred in a prison near this palace, by an infuriated mob. 
Mr. Adams conducted me to the spot, and warmly execrated 
this dark event in the history of Holland. 

The canal between the Hague and Ley den is fifty feet wide. 
The country, rich in culture and loveliness, is 
ascribed. equal to that which I had already crossed over. 

Leyden is distinguished for the terrific siege, 
(one of the most tragic in the annals of war,) which it main- 
tained against the Duke of Alva. The city was ultimately 
relieved, by the bold and desperate expedient of opening the 



1784.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 241 

dykes, by which the country was immediately inundated. 
Leyden is second only to Amsterdam in population. The 
city is well laid out, and is adorned with trees, and traversed 
by elegant streets and spacious canals. 

The Stadhuis is an ancient structure, built in the pure 
Dutch architecture. We noticed many superior pictures in 
it, and were struck with the peculiar appropriateness of one, 
representing the relief of the city from the siege referred to, 
by boats laden with provisions, approaching it over the arti- 
ficial sea, formed by the inundation. I visited, at Leyden, 
with deep and thrilling emotion, the humble church where 
the Puritans worshipped, before their emigration to Plymouth. 
The building is old and inelegant ; but I viewed it with 
greater satisfaction than a palace. The deacon of the church, 
who accompanied me to the edifice, remarked, that Mr. 
Adams, when visiting it, was deeply affected, and could not 
refrain from weeping. A descendant of the Pilgrims should 
not stand within these consecrated walls, without yielding the 
homage of his tearful veneration. 

I owed to the letters of Mr. Adams the most marked kind- 
ness from M. Luzac, a very eminent lawyer, 
but more distinguished for his remarkable abil- 
ities as a political writer, and as editor of the Leyden Gazette. 
In returning from M. Luzac's along the line of the canal, 
about eleven o'clock at night, I was astonished at the repose 
and silence, almost that of the country, which rested upon 
this quiet city. 

Leyden yielded to Amsterdam in importance. It then, 
however, contained only forty thousand inhabitants. M. 
Luzac informed me, that it formerly was com- 
puted to embrace seventy thousand. The in- described. 
crease of the woollen manufactories of England, 
had greatly depressed its prosperity. The city is strongly 
fortified, and surrounded with a broad ditch, which is adorned 
11 



242 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1784. 

with rows of trees. The edifices are elegant; the streets, spa- 
cious and clean. The principal avenue, which stretches from 
the Hague gate to the Utrecht gate, the entire length of the 
city, is elevated, finely paved, and without a canal. Most of 
the other streets have canals running along their centres, or- 
namented, as usual in this country, with lofty trees, standing 
occasionally in three parallel rows. This arrangement gave 
to the canals the appearance and effect of long alleys in a 
beautiful garden. The city is built on the old Ehine, which 
divides it into fifty islands, thirty of which may be sailed 
round in boats. It had one hundred and forty-five stone 
bridges, and forty -two towers on its walls. The Stadhuis 
is a large structure, built in 1597, in pure Dutch architecture. 

The large church of Ley den is a vast pile, with no particu- 
lar interest, except a monument of great beauty and sim- 
plicity, raised to consecrate the memory of the 
Boerhaave* t0 illustrious physician and distinguished philoso- 
pher, Boerhaave. The reputation of this great 
man extended to China, and it is a tradition at Leyden, 
that a Mandarin addressed him with this superscription, 
— "To Boerhaave, in Europe," and that the missive came 
duly to his hands. The monument erected to him in the 
church of St. Peter, bears the inscription, " Salutifero Boer- 
haave genio sacrum." It is an urn, resting upon a pedestal 
of black marble, which represents the four ages of life, and 
two of the sciences in which Boerhaave excelled. The capi- 
tal of the base is decorated with a drapery of white marble, 
in which are exhibited, by the artist, emblems of diseases and 
their remedies. Above, upon the pedestal, is the medallion 
of Boerhaave ; at the extremity of the same, a ribbon dis- 
plays his private motto, " Simplex sigillum veri." 

I visited an old castle, in the centre of the city, called " de 
Burg," which is said to have been built in the ninth century. 
It is more than six hundred feet in circumference. We 



1784.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 243 

ascended by fifty steps to the summit, from which we enjoyed 
an extensive and delightful view of the city and the adjacent 
country, the Downs, and Haarlem lake. Within the Burg is 
a well, of vast depth, in which, as the annals of the city aver, 
the inhabitants, during the memorable siege, caught a large 
fish, which they in triumph exhibited from the walls to the 
Spaniards. 

The university of Leyden possesses great eminence, and is 
the principal institution of learning in Holland. It was 
founded in 1575, by the States, as a tribute of 
gratitude for the glorious defence of the city. Leydeif ty ° f 
The building is antiquated. The professors 
are among the most distinguished in Europe. The botanical 
garden attached to the University, its statues, cabinet of 
natural curiosities, library, anatomical preparations, and petri- 
fied remains, are all highly interesting. In the garden we 
saw the American aloe, and the tea and coffee plants. This 
University enjoyed great, and some singular privileges, even 
the authority to inflict death ; but the professors are subor- 
dinate to the government of Holland. The manufactures of 
this place were formerly very extensive, especially in broad- 
cloths, which they possessed the secret of dyeing in great 
perfection. Their fabrics embraced also narrow cloths and 
camlets. 

A peculiarity of manner and feeling is said to characterize 
the middle classes of the Dutch. Their sensibilities are 
keen ; their manners, quiet and serious. They 
can suffer neither a jest nor a compliment ; the Snsibility. 
first, their jealousy construes into an insult ; 
the last confuses them. They seldom laugh, and never with- 
out an adequate cause. When the laugh of a company falls 
upon an individual, his sensibility is always deeply affected, 
and is proclaimed to all by messengers flying from the heart, 
and bursting into a blaze upon the cheek. Such being the 



244 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1784. 

effect of a joke in Holland, surely every one who has a gen- 
erous mind will avoid this resource for amusement, and will 
wisely graduate his conduct here, as he should in every coun- 
try, by the prejudices and prevailing customs of its people, 
prone to be governed by some caprice peculiar to themselves. 




Invention of Printing. Page 246. 



CHAPTER IX. 



Haarlem. 



Eaely the next morning, we were moving toward Haar- 
lem, upon the smooth surface of another splendid canal. I 
cannot find words of sufficient energy to ex- 
press my admiration, and the delightful in- 
fluence upon my mind, excited by sailing through this beau- 
tiful, but artificial country. We traversed a pleasant district 
between the downs of Haarlem Lake, on our right, and the 
downs which run parallel to the ocean on the left. Within 
a few miles of Haarlem, the country assumed a new aspect, 
and was beautifully diversified with elegant country-seats, cot- 
tages, an extensive forest, villages, and charm- 
ing views. It was in this forest that Koster, 
an alderman of Haarlem, first suggested, as the Dutch a 



Koster. 



246 Men and Times of the Involution; [1784. 

lege, the invention of printing with types, in 1440. He was 
rambling, the legend runs, carelessly, and amu- 
' sing himself in forming, with his knife, letters 
upon pieces of wood. With these he made impressions, and 
from the circumstance derived the conception of movable 
types. John Faust, a servant of Koster, stole the types, 
transported them to Metz, and assumed the merit of the dis- 
covery. This was the Doctor Faustus, so familiar to the 
minds of the vulgar in America, for his reported league with 
the Prince of Darkness. I saw at Haarlem specimens, which 
were carefully preserved, of the first essay Koster made with 
his wooden types. A statue had been erected to him, with 
an elegant Latin inscription, and was standing in the Town 
Hall of that city. 

I saw, in the old cathedral at Haarlem, the finest organ in 
existence, made by the ingenious Muller, 1738. 

Haarlem Organ. T . _ J _ ° ' . 

It is a stupendous work, as vast in its dimen- 
sions as it is ingenious in its execution and contrivance, con- 
taining eight thousand pipes, the largest of which is sixteen 
inches in diameter, and thirty-eight feet long. It combines 
sixty-eight stops. This organ imitates, with admirable accu- 
racy, the human voice, both in solos and in chorus, various 
kinds of birds, trumpets, fifes, flutes, and the kettle-drum. 
The deep-toned flourish of trumpets is succeeded by the softer 
notes of gentler instruments, and then sinks into the melo- 
dious harmony peculiar to the organ itself. Its power and the 
variety of its tones are most wonderful. The instrument is 
played, twice a week, for the gratification of the citizens and 
strangers ; and on other occasions gratuities are paid to the 
performers. 

There are two silver bells upon the church, which were 
captured by the famous Braakel, at Damietta. There were 
three small ships suspended on the inside of the building, 
with saws adjusted to their sterns, to commemorate the saw- 



1784.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 247 

ing of the chain across the Nile, an incident I have already- 
referred to. Bullets were exhibited to me, which were cut 
out from the ceiling, into which they had been 
fired by the Spaniards, during the terrific siege Hafriem. 

the city sustained in 1572, against the Duke of 
Alva's army. The city was gallantly defended on that occa- 
sion, by four thousand troops, heroically supported by the 
women; but they were obliged by famine ultimately to sur- 
render, when two thousand persons, in infamous violation of 
the terms of the capitulation, fell victims to Spanish bar- 
barity. 

The architecture of Haarlem, and the arrangement of the 
streets, assimilate it to Leyden. The population had decreased 
from fifty thousand to thirty thousand. The Irish formerly 
sent immense quantities of linen to this place, to be bleached, 
the water of Haarlem Lake being esteemed _ _ 

r™ Haarlem Lake. 

peculiarly favorable to this process. The fields 
in this vicinity were as white with linen, spread upon them 
for bleaching, as our American meadows are after a snow- 
storm. Haarlem Lake is about fourteen miles scjuare, and 
was formed by an inundation three centuries before. This 
appalling catastrophe overwhelmed seventy-two villages in 
its flood, with a frightful destruction of life and property. 
This body of water would be ranked scarcely above a pond 
in America, and yet the Hollander regards it with as much 
admiration as the American esteems his Lake Superior, which 
would embrace several republics like Holland within the area 
of its bosom. 

Between Haarlem and Amsterdam, we crossed a narrow 
causeway which separated the river Wye from Haarlem Lake ; 
and we had, from its summit, a full view of the lake and 
river, with the stately palace. From the causeway to Am- 
sterdam, the course of the canal was direct, enabling us to 
see the city the entire distance. I was disappointed in the 



248 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1784. 

approach to Amsterdam : nothing of interest was presented, 
while the stench from the stagnant water of the canals was 
excessively offensive. 

The harbor of this commercial metropolis presented a forest 
of shipping, but far inferior to that upon the 
Amsterdam. Thames. The magnificent docks contained sev- 
eral new ships of war of the greatest dimensions, 
and some old ones. These ships are conveyed in and out of 
these artificial docks, and quite to the Texel, by means of 
very curious and ingenious machines, which receive the hull 
of the vessels within their bodies, and thus securely transport 
them. These machines are appropriately called u camels." 

Amsterdam stands upon the river Wye, near the Zuyder 
Zee, and contained at that time about three 
deTcr^d™' hundred thousand inhabitants. The number of 
dwellings was the same, and they were of the 
same size, as those of Paris, although the inhabitants were one 
half less. This city was scarcely known in the thirteenth cen- 
tury, and owes its subsequent rise and magnificence, to the 
flood of population which poured into it from Antwerp, dur- 
ing the civil commotion. It is built in the form of a cres- 
cent, and was well fortified with a strong wall and bastions. 
The ditch which encompassed it, formed a spacious canal, em- 
bellished with a double row of trees. It was esteemed hard- 
ly second to London, in the extent and value of its commerce, 
although then admitted to be on the wane. More than two 
thousand ships, from every quarter of the globe, annually 
enter the Wye. The shallowness of the Zuyder Zee is a 
serious embarrassment to this commerce, but it effectually 
protects the city from naval enemies. Amsterdam is built 
on the site of a salt marsh. Its edifices principally stand 
upon piles, prepared at an enormous expense. Thirteen 
thousand piles were required, to create the foundation of the 
Stadhuis. The streets are usually wide and well paved; 



1784.J Or, Memoirs of Mkanah Watson. 249 

canals are constructed through the centre of many of them. 
The vista of stately and umbrageous trees, which almost uni- 
formly border the canals in the cities of Holland, im- 
parts to the scenery a beautiful and agreeable feature. 

The squares of Amsterdam are small and inelegant. The 
Stadhuis stands upon the most considerable 
of them. This edifice was a noble structure, 
and the principal object of beauty and attraction in the city. 
It is two hundred and eighty-two feet long, two hundred and 
five wide, and a hundred and sixteen feet high, constructed 
of hewn stone at an expense of two millions of pounds ster- 
ling. The material points of interest in this huge pile, are the 
armory, the bank, the Burgers' Hall, and its bells and paint- 
ings. The Hall is a spacious and gorgeous room, a hundred 
and twenty feet long, fifty-seven broad, and ninety high, en- 
tirely built of marble. The floor exhibits a representation of 
the earth and heavens, with the constellations curiously inlaid 
in marble. The dwelling-houses of Amsterdam are chiefly 
constructed of brick, and occasionally of hewn stone, but in 
general they are not so elegant as those of Rotterdam. The 
arsenal and the dock-yard adjacent, which contained a vast 
amount of naval stores, were worthy of careful examination. 
The hospitals and other charitable institutions are very 
numerous in the city, and highly important. They support, 
it is estimated, twenty thousand paupers. Every religion was 
tolerated, but Calvinism predominated. Bells are allowed 
to the churches of no other denomination. Trumpeters are 
stationed in the steeples and towers during the night, to 
sound the alarm, in case of fire. The revenue of Amster- 
dam is computed at fifty thousand florins per diem. Its trade 
extends to every sea, but the most lucrative commerce was at 
this period with the Indies. 

The chime on the Stadhuis is said to be the finest in Eu- 
rope. I examined it minutely, and found it truly a stupen- 
11* 



250 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1784. 

dous work. We remained on the roof until it sounded the 
hour, and our ears were stunned by the ponderous tones. It 
is similar to an organ in its mechanism, and a person can play 
upon it with equal facility. 

Among the splendid paintings in the Stadhuis, I was par- 
ticularly struck with one of Van Dyke's, which represented 
the Duke of Alva in conference with the burgers of Amster- 
dam, before they abjured the Spanish yoke. It singularly 
portrayed that dark and bloody character which he after- 
wards exhibited, combined with a bold and martial expres- 
sion of countenance. 

I proceeded to the Exchange, during the hours of business, 
to deliver my letters from Mr. Adams. The room is not so 
large as the Exchange in London, nor could it 
E^hanffe m compare, in neatness and elegance, with that, or 
the one at Eotterdam. It is built of brick, and 
is totally destitute of all ornamental arrangement. At " full- 
change," it was completely crowded. I retired into a corner, 
to indulge my curiosity, and contemplate the busy scene. I 
could compare it to nothing so appropriately, as the glass bee- 
house I had recently examined at Wildman's garden. The 
latter was, in truth, the Amsterdam Exchange in miniature ; 
there was the same buzzing sound, the same eagerness of the 
bees to enter, the same industry and ardor in the accumula- 
tion of the honey, in each. These active merchants are roam- 
ing abroad from flower to flower, in the wide world, every- 
where sucking and collecting the sweets of commerce. 

I have seldom read in books, or heard in conversation, a 

particular reference to the character of Amsterdam, without 

observing an allusion to a singular institution, known as the 

speel-houses, under the license and regulation 

Speel-houses. p , ,. ml , n , . . 

01 the police. The apology lor their creation is 
in the idea, that they accomplish a protection to virtuous 
females. I felt a curiosity to examine them ; and, under the 



1784.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 251 

guidance of an official of the police, I visited one of the most 
celebrated. The spectacle, however, was too loathsome and 
abhorrent to be endured, and we remained but a few minutes. 
At the door, we were compelled to pay for a bottle of vine- 
gar, which they called wine, with the option of drinking it or 
not. A dense cloud of smoke enveloped the apartment, which 
was thronged by Jack-tars, boors, and vulgar citizens. We 
pressed our way through this assemblage to the farther ex- 
tremity of the room, where a strapping negro was dancing 
with a speel-house lady, to the music of an old reprobate, saw- 
ing upon a broken violin. The dancing was unique ; they 
seemed to slide heavily upon their heels, sailing along the 
floor, without either figure or animation. There were about 
forty of these debased and wretched victims, arranged round 
the room, like so many painted dolls. They presented to my 
mind the idea of a butcher's shamble, where the lambs are 
hung up for the highest bidder. Alas, poor humanity, in 
scenes like this, fallen and degraded below the beasts of the 
field! 

I also visited the rasp-house, a place of punishment of great 
celebrity. I found it an excellent institution, 
but with no remarkable feature. The punish- 
ment, in addition to the confinement, seemed merely to con- 
sist in culprits' being compelled to cut lignum vitae with 
a rasp saw. We were closely followed during our inspection, 
and stunned by the cry of " charity, charity !" 

Another curious mode of correction prevailed in Holland : 
those who obstinately persisted in refusing to work, were 
placed in a cistern, with water up to their chins, 
where they were fastened to a pump, and com- ^™ t p Pumsh " 
pelled, by involuntary labor, to avoid drown- 
ing, as the water is made to run in as fast as it is discharged 
by the pump. 

I dined in Amsterdam, at the house of an eminent mer- 



252 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1784. 

chant, with a brilliant company. On leaving the hospitable 
table of the wealthy Dutchman, we paid our two florins to 
the servant at the door, with as much precision as at a table 
d'hote in Paris. This disgraceful custom had been exploded, 
only a few years before, in England, where it formerly cost a 
gentleman a half-guinea to dine with his friend. 

I made an excursion from Amsterdam to Sardam, which is 

situated upon the Wye, six miles from the 
described. former. The harbor was filled with shipping, 

arranged with perfect order and system. On 
approaching Sardam, we perceived a battalion of windmills 
drawn up on our front. This extraordinary town appears 
small, when viewed at a distance, but I was astonished at the 
deception in this respect, and delighted with the peculiarity of 
the architecture, and with the arrangement of the houses, gar- 
dens, and, indeed, of almost every object. All were strange, 
and indeed unlike any thing I had before seen. Sardam is 
situated in North Holland, and contained nearly forty thou- 
sand inhabitants, who were conspicuous for their great wealth. 
They have acquired their affluence by the wood trade, ship- 
building, and the operation of a multiplicity of curious 
mills, appropriated to the manufacture of paper, tobacco, 
boards, etc. 

I examined here a saw-mill, that worked forty saws simul- 
taneously by one movement. It was intended to keep in a 
state of preparation timber, well seasoned in the ship-yard, 
adequate to the average construction of one ship a week. 
Three hundred vessels were usually built at Sardam every 
year. This city looked like a finished Chinese palace, and 
realized the idea of perfect beauty and elegance. The build- 
ings were small, but unique, and universally beautiful. They 
were painted various colors, and had roofs constructed of 
glazed tiles. Handsome porticos spread in front of their 
dwellings, with gardens arranged with a magnificence and 



1784.] Or } Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 253 

skill that cannot be described, which extended very far in the 
rear. Sardam covers a large area. The canals run along 
the streets, in every direction, bordered on each side with long 
chains of these fairy houses. Eambling for hours with un- 
abated delight through this charming place, we were at length 
conducted to the small house in which Peter the Great boarded 
among the common operatives, the most faith- 
ful and laborious man in the yard, whilst he 
was here practically learning the trade of a ship-carpenter. 
The woman of the house exhibited, with much exultation, a 
gold medal which had been presented to her by the Empress 
of Eussia. 

The habits and genius of the people of North Holland are 
strikingly dissimilar to those of the other provinces; and 
many of them are very strange and peculiar. 
They extend their ideas of neatness to such an North Holland, 
excess, that I was assured the master of the neatness, 
house was positively constrained, by custom, to 
pull off his shoes at his own threshold, where a servant was 
prepared to supply him with a pair of slippers. The front 
doors of their dwellings were opened, only on occasions of 
deaths and marriages. The women were strangely metamor- 
phosed, and totally unlike their Southern sisters, in attire and 
taste. Their heads were encircled with broad gold or brass 
bands ; across the forehead they wore tight caps, with the 
hair cut short in front. Immense ear-rings dangled at the 
sides of their faces, which were surmounted with broad flat 
calico hats, cocked up in the air. Under all these disadvan- 
tages, I saw many beautiful faces ; but the female figure was 
generally bad. I observed a remarkable uniformity in their 
features, that made them all appear like sisters. 

We extended our excursion to Broek, which, in many re- 
spects, is even more curious and remarkable than Sardam. 
In beauty and style, as well as cleanliness, it is the very 



254 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1784. 

model of a perfect city. It is mainly inhabited by merchants, 
who have retired from Amsterdam, immersed 
described. m wealth. Banking and insurance operations 

are their peculiar occupation. Neither carriages 
nor horses were allowed to enter the precincts of this en- 
chanted village. The streets are finely paved with variegated 
stones, fancifully marked in various figures, and strewn light- 
ly over with sand, as carefully as the inside of their houses. 
Every thing we saw glittered in neatness, so strongly that 
our eyes were fairly pained, in gazing upon them. This peo- 
ple is represented as exceedingly coy of strangers, and as 
usually intermarrying among themselves. 

On our return to Amsterdam, we were overtaken by a 
severe thunder-storm ; and about a hundred passengers 
were crowded together in the dark, beneath 
Duieh d Jew. 0rrn ' the itches. Even Dutch phlegm, in such a 
situation, yielded to merriment and frolic. A 
Dutch Jew in the boat had a peculiar talent of imitating, with 
an empty pipe, the crying of a child. This he did to per- 
fection, whenever the curtains were dropped. All supposing 
a child to be in the canal, thrust out their heads into the rain, 
when the crying would instantly cease ; and we hunted in vain 
for the sufferer. This artifice was repeated several times, be- 
fore we detected the imposture. 

I left Amsterdam, on board of a trekschuit for Utrecht, 
and in nine hours reached that city, at the distance of twenty- 
three miles. We traversed a beautiful country, more profusely 
abounding in elegant country-seats and villas than I had seen 
in any part of Holland, especially as we approached^ Utrecht, 
where we saw a continuous series of splendid residences, 
some exhibiting the gorgeousness and magnificence of pal- 
aces. 

Utrecht occupies a small natural elevation, and was es- 
teemed a healthy city. It is rendered conspicuous in his- 



1784. J Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 255 

tory, for the celebrated treaty in 1579, which cemented the 
union of the Seven Provinces. It contained 
between twenty thousand and thirty thousand described, 

inhabitants. Party spirit was highly exas- 
perated in the city. The citizens were arming and exercising 
in military evolutions, preparing to oppose the Prince of 
Orange, whose party denounced these movements as rebel- 
lious, and instigated by a French faction. The citizens were 
so deeply hostile to England, that it was almost dangerous 
for an Englishman to appear in the streets. Martial excite- 
ment beat high in every vein. My mind re- 
volted at the thought, that these blooming foment, 
fields might soon be occupied by parks of bel- 
lowing artillery, by encampments and scenes of civil war, in 
which kinsmen would be darting at each other's bosoms the 
weapons of death. 

I visited the ruins of the old Cathedral, the centre of 
which had fallen, but the tower remained. I saw here a 
monument to a bishop, with several others in basso-relievo, 
the heads of which had been battered off during the harsh 
religious persecutions which produced the revolt under Philip 
II. We ascended the tower, which is three hundred and 
seventy feet high. From this elevation, the view stretched 
far over the Low Country, the Downs, Haarlem Lake, and 
the Zuyder Zee. The atmosphere was hazy, and thus 
limited our horizon. I was informed, that, in a clear day, 
fifty walled cities might be comprehended in one view from 
this summit. The country in the vicinity of Utrecht, ap- 
peared like a broad and unbroken garden. The wind blew a 
gale; and I was apprehensive, that the crazy old tower, 
which had withstood sieges and tempests for almost a thou- 
sand years, would at length tumble down and bury me in its 
ruins. The terrific roar of the wind, through the hollow 
arches, and amid the ruins of the old church beneath us, was 



256 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1784. 

calculated to excite these emotions. I hastened down, and 
proceeded to visit the University. 

A celebrated garden next attracted my attention, which 

belonged to a Madame Van Mollem. It was 

Madame Van constructed on a magnificent plan, and seemed 

Mollem's . ? r ' _ _ 

Garden. to embrace every object that can render such a 

spot curious and delightful. It was profusely 
adorned with cascades, variously arranged, grottos, statues, 
vases, and with evergreens which were ingeniously formed so 
as to represent a great variety of objects. Two grottos, chiefly 
constructed with rare marine shells, collected from different 
parts of the earth, were formed with unrivalled taste and beau- 
ty, at an expense, we were informed, of ten thousand pounds 
each. Near this garden, a silk manufactory was established, 
constructed nearly upon the plan of the one at Derby, which 
I have described. A single water-wheel, which is a marked 
curiosity in Holland, propelled the entire machinery. 

The Mall of Utrecht is said to be the largest in Europe. 
It is three quarters of a mile in length, and is enclosed by 
four double rows of lofty and venerable trees. When Louis 
XIV. seized the city in 1672, he gave special instructions for 
the preservation of this delightful promenade. Utrecht pos- 
sessed no particular curiosities or imposing public edifices. 

On my departure from Amsterdam, I had embraced in my 
contemplated movements a tour through Saxony and West- 
phalia, that I might see and pay my -homage to the immortal 
Frederick ; but I received letters at Utrecht, which compelled 
me to retrace my steps, and hasten to London. I embarked 
in a trekschuit for Leyden, and, the first time since my ar- 
rival in Holland, found my French unintelligible to all on 
board. I occupied a cabin alone, but wandered into the 
smoke and crowd of the boat in search of society ; and, after 
a vain pursuit, returned to my seclusion, and spent the night 
upon the cushioned benches, reading, sleeping, and con tern- 



1784-1 Or, Memoirs of MJcanah Watson. 257 

plating the country through the cabin windows, by a glowing 
moonlight. We travelled upon the canal to the Canal 

city of Vorden, where we entered a branch of Travelling, 
the Ehine, and yielded the boat to its gentle 
current. We descended the river, in this pleasant and lux- 
urious manner, passing many beautiful residences, and 
through a charming country, until we reached Leyden. I 
was delighted with this mode of travelling ; the wide river, 
the clear and pure water, the splendid scenes afforded by the 
adjacent country, viewed through the trees which lined the 
shores of the stream, by the moonlight beaming upon it. 
Hastily passing through Leyden, to embark upon the Delft 
canal, I perceived some of the citizens under arms at the 
Stadhuis, and understood that the antagonistic parties, since 
my visit to the city, had had a slight conflict. 

The Seven Provinces which constituted the Eepublic of 
Holland, and once attracted the gaze and admi- 
ration of the world, were Holland, Zealand, ^^ 
Friesland, Gruelderland, Overyssel, Groningen 
and Utrecht. They embraced an area of about a hundred 
and fifty miles wide and a hundred miles broad, including 
the Zuyder Zee and Haarlem Lake. The surface of water 
which they contained, combined with the numerous canals 
and rivers, makes it doubtful, whether land or water occu- 
pies the greater space within the boundary of the country. 
Travelling was cheaper at the period of my tour, in Holland, 
than in any other region I visited. The ordinary disburse- 
ment did not exceed one penny sterling the mile. The level 
and depressed face of the country, often lower than tide water, 
creates the impression upon the traveller's mind, that it has 
been wrested from the dominion of ocean ; and that he may, 
at some period, resume his empire, seems probable, from the 
frightful events which appear in the history of the country. 

The heavy and moist atmosphere that envelops Holland, is 



258 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1784. 

undoubtedly healthy to the acclimated inhabitants. Their 
winters usually commence in October, and terminate in 
March. The summers are generally hot, short, and subject 
to severe changes. The estimates of the population were ex- 
tremely discordant ; but, from the best data I could procure, 
it did not exceed two millions and a half, and was evidently 
on the decline. This fact is chiefly attributable to the insen- 
sible but progressive decline in their manufactures, which 
naturally bore with it a depression in their commerce. More 
luxurious living, and less industry than characterized their 
lofty-spirited ancestors, were regarded as other causes of this 
declension. Those who assume to pry deeply into the future, 
predicted the total annihilation of the Republic, as an inde- 
pendent power. They remarked, that should the Emperor 
of Germany persevere in his wise and ambitious design of 
opening the Scheldt, and reviving the commerce of Antwerp, 
(once the emporium and commercial glory of Europe,) it must 
inevitably tend to accelerate the fall of Holland. 

The Scheldt is a noble river, and is capable of admitting 

ships of any burthen quite up to the city, which 
Antwerp. ldt " na( ^ ^ so secure access to the North Sea, and a 

communication with the Rhine, Meuse and Lys. 
In the event of this navigation's being restored, a doubt was 
not entertained, that Antwerp would regain its former 
splendor. As Amsterdam had risen to opulence on the 
ruins of Antwerp, it was regarded as possible, that the latter 
might be restored to prosperity by the decline of the former. 
The main spring of Dutch wealth existed in the East 
India, and chiefly in the spice, trade ; and in this they were 
considered then in great danger of having formidable com- 
petitors and rivals. 

The canals in Holland are so generally used, 

that the roads are neglected, and almost uni- 
formly bad. No regular post-coaches existing, travellers are 



1784.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 259 

compelled to use wagons ; and the charges of these not being 
regulated by law, they are subjected to every imposition and 
extortion. The country is curious, because it resembles no 
other ; but a continued uniformity soon cloys the mind of a 
traveller, although the objects he views are pleasant and 
beautiful. After seeing one city of Holland, you may form 
a pretty correct idea of the rest. The country, without the 
walls of the cities, maintained the same general symmetry ; a 
prolonged marshy plain, thronged with cattle. The Dutch, in 
high life, are counterparts of the French. The merchant, and 
those of that rank in society, are esteemed more elegant and 
refined than the English of the same class. The Dutch are 
esteemed a cold, phlegmatic, and inhospitable people, espe- 
cially in their intercourse with strangers, but are brave, 
frugal, and industrious. 

The province of Holland was divided into North and South 
Holland, and is partially separated by the river Wye. The 
custom and style of life between these divisions 
are very unlike. The province of Holland ex- Holland, 

. . . described 

hibits an entire flat surface, except the downs inundations, 
along the sea-coast. The soil is light. In No- 
vember, the country, particularly North Holland, is almost 
submerged. Few objects appear above the waste of waters, 
but dykes, steeples, and buildings. The inhabitants, at this 
season, seem almost like amphibious animals. These inunda- 
tions, after fertilizing .the fields, are drawn off in February. 
The process is accomplished by machinery, worked by wind- 
mills, which discharges the water with great rapidity into the 
canals. The country is protected from the sea, by artificial 
dykes and the downs. They had little arable land. The 
meadows afford fine grazing, for the vast flocks of cattle 
which cover them. Holland is, indeed, a wide-spread mead- 
ow, intersected by rivers, lakes, and canals, which are pro- 
fusely stored with fish. 



260 Men and Times of the Revolution; [17&4. 

The commerce of Holland once knew no limits but the 
confines of the globe. It had no grain of its own culture, but 
was the granary of Europe ; no vineyards, but it supplied 
Europe with the choicest wines. It had no staple of its own 
production ; but it supplied in its own ports every commodity 
cheaper than any other nation. Such are the energies and 
effects of industry and enterprise. But alas, poor Holland ! 
thy sun had now passed its meridian splendor, and, as in 
a long summer's day, it was slowly approaching the horizon. 
In power and wealth, Holland equalled all the other six 
provinces. 

The province of Zealand is situated at the mouth of the 

Scheldt, and is divided into eleven islands, by 
Zealand? ° f that river. It is entirely protected from the 

sea, by dykes, which are maintained at an 
enormous expense. The land lies low, and is subject to 
frequent inundations. It was reputed to be more fertile, but 
less healthy than Holland. The inhabitants carried on ex- 
tensive herring fisheries, principally on the coast of England. 
Their fisheries are an admirable nursery of seamen, and a 
source of great wealth. It surprised me, that so enterprizing 
a people as the English, should permit their great commercial 
rivals to monopolize this immense business on the very shores 
of England. The people of Zealand possessed few manu- 
factories. 

Friesland is the most northern province. The soil is gen- 
erally very fertile. In some sections, it was sparsely in 

habited. It produced considerable grain, and 
FrioT]and° f possessed very superior horses, cows, and sheep. 

The latter were peculiar for their long and soft 
wool. Occasional forests occurred, which were filled with 
great quantities of wild fowl. Their commerce was exten- 
sive. Their linens were highly esteemed. The people of 
this province had preserved, in an eminent degree, the habits 



1784.] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 261 

and customs of their ancestors. The remaining provinces 
were less important, and similar to the others in their general 
physical features, and the characteristics of their people. 

The following remarks and reflections upon the govern- 
ment and prospects of Holland, as they existed at that pe- 
riod, I have deemed proper to preserve, al- 
though the whole fabric has, since they were Honand? nS ° n 
written, been swept away in the overwhelming 
tide of change and revolutions. Each province, in most of 
its functions and prerogatives, is independent of the others, 
while many of the cities possess powers and immunities in- 
dependent of the provinces in which they are situated. 
Their " High Mightinesses," or Deputies of the States Gen- 
eral, can neither make war nor conclude peace, without the 
concurrence of every State represented by Deputies in the 
General Assembly. In this the people are most unequally 
represented. Thus the province of Overyssel exercises the 
same voice as Holland, the latter paying half the expenses 
of the Union. And the little city of Purmerend enjoys the 
same power as Amsterdam, which bears half the financial 
burdens of the whole province. 

The States General assemble regularly four times a year, 
at the Hague; and, in case of emergency, are convened at 
any time by the Council of State. One nega- 
tive arrests a decision. This power often pro- Government, 
duces tedious procrastination, and disastrously 
clogs the wheels of public operations. Hence arose their 
slow and feeble efforts in the war with England, which had 
just terminated. The chamber of accounts manages the re- 
venues of the Eepublic. The States General are composed 
of thirty-four members. No Stadhouder, Governor, nor 
officer, can vote in the National Assembly. They change 
the President every week, each Province supplying one in 
turn. In common cases, the majority of votes decides a 



262 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1784. 

question, but, in specified, extraordinary matters, the vote 
must be unanimous. Five courts of Admiralty exist, and 
are located at different ports. These hold the control of 
naval operations, subject to instructions from the Assembly. 
The powers and duties of the Stadhouder are merely those 
of Commander-in-chief of the armies and High Admiral, and 
are exercised in subordination to their High Mightinesses. 

The legislative authority of each city is vested in a Senate, 
composed of thirty or forty members. These hold their of- 
fices for life. A vacancy is filled by the survivors. The 
Eepresentatives of the several Provinces are chosen from this 
Senate. Practically, therefore, the people (with all their 
boasted liberty) have no voice in the election of the power 
by which they are governed with so much despotism. 

In contemplating the ponderous and complicated machinery 
of the government of the Dutch Eepublic, I thus recorded 
my sentiments at the time : 

" I fear we shall realize, in our confederated system, the in- 
conveniences and weakness the Dutch experience under their 
ill-modelled government, which, whilst it seems 
Confederacy. to ^ e grounded on the basis of a scrupulous 
jealousy of power, in its operations exhibits 
the most grinding despotism. During the external pressure 
of a common enemy, our temporary government answered 
all the purposes for which it was organized ; but, now, that 
weight is removed, every State may draw into itself, and, like 
the sensitive plant, shrink from the representative body of 
the Union. Our Confederacy embraces many of the defects, 
without the coercive power and energetic independence of the 
Dutch government. God only knows what will be the end ; 
but I dread to look forward, from a deep conviction, that we 
cannot long be bound together by the feeble ties which now 
unite the States. State will soon contend with State ; hatred 
and alienation will ensue ; and perhaps the whole continent 



1784.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 263 

is destined to be deluged in the mutual slaughter of Ameri- 
cans, whilst yet smoking with the blood of our foes. And 
finally, we shall become a prey to some power of Europe ; or 
some audacious Cromwell will step forth, to impose despotic 
laws and more than kingly protection. I cannot, I will not 
indulge in these gloomy apprehensions ; but, I will rather 
hope, that the lofty anticipations of an admiring world will 
not so soon be blasted, and that the Providence which con- 
ducted us, with so much glory, through the Kevolution, will 
combine the wisdom of the nation, to devise a form of gov- 
ernment that will bless this and future generations." 

The revenue of Holland amounts to almost twenty -one 
millions of florins per annum, and is produced principally by 
the Custom and Excise duties, which are so extended as to 
meet almost every article. Upon an emergency, they have 
recourse to the hundredth penny. 

The naval armament consists of seventy sail, of all classes. 
The army is composed of thirty thousand troops. 

The canals of Holland can scarcely be enumerated. They 
traverse the country, and intersect each other 
in every direction. They are substitutes for HoUandf 

roads, and the medium of intercourse in sum- 
mer by boats ; and, when frozen, they afford delightful av- 
enues for business or pleasure. These canals are the chan- 
nels of an immense trade with Germany and France. The 
proprietors derive a large revenue from them, which is esti- 
mated to average a net annual income of twenty-five hundred 
dollars per mile. The original capital stock had, ages before, 
been reimbursed. The canals of Holland usually require two 
acres of land for each mile ; those of England an acre and a 
half. England embraced, in 1784, almost six hundred miles 
of artificial inland navigation, which yielded from ten to 
thirty per cent, on its stocks. 

The first canal in that country, was constructed to convey 



264 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1784. 

the New river into London. The year 1758 may be adopted 
as the epoch of the introduction of the policy into Great Bri- 
tain, through the agency of the Duke of Bridgewater, and 
the genius of Brindley, who was an accomplished engineer, 
from the instincts of nature. The canals of Holland possess 
a vast advantage over those of nearly every other country, 
from the fact, that its low and level surface almost univer- 
sally exempts them from the inconvenience and expense of 
locks. 

I reached the packet at Helvoetsloys, at the moment of 
her departure. 




Washington and his Guest. Page 280. 



OHAPTEE X. 



After a tempestuous passage of twenty -four hours, we 
made the English coast near Yarmouth, and ran along its 
lofty cliffs until abreast of Lestoff. The passengers, fourteen 
in number, were obliged to embark on board an open fishing- 
boat, two miles from shore, in a heavy sea, and under dark 
and threatening clouds. We landed safely, however, amid a 
rolling surge, refreshed ourselves, and settled our giddy heads 
with a comfortable dish of tea. I have often 
experienced the salutary effects of this favorite fel-drinking. 
herb, after a fatiguing journey or sea-sickness. 
It produces a relief, as effectual as opium does in other cases. 
The French use tea as a medicine ; the English, Dutch, and 
Americans, to an extravagant extent, as a beverage. Con- 
12 



266 Men ^nd Times of the Revolution; [1784. 

sumption and bad teeth were generally imputed to the exces- 
sive use of the hot tea. I will not assert the truth of the 
theory, but it is rendered plausible by the fact, that, in France, 
consumption is almost unknown, and the teeth of the French 
are generally fine, while, in the tea-drinking countries, that 
disease is frightfully prevalent, and the teeth of the people 
are very generally bad. 

On landing, we immediately started for London ; but, in 
the absence of every better vehicle, we were compelled to 

travel twenty-five miles in a common horse- 
Tmveiiing. cart > across the country to Saxmundham, like 

so many condemned criminals on their way to 
Tyburn. This mode of travelling was novel, and afforded 
us no small amusement, although we were incommoded by 
the rain, and subjected to the wit and ridicule of the country 
people. 

After my return from Holland, until my departure for 
America, in the following August, I was employed in the 
final adjustment of my affairs, and the enjoyment of the hos- 
pitality of my friends in the vicinity of London. A ludicrous 
incident, which occurred during this interval, afforded gen- 
eral amusement to the metropolis, for the hour. A newly 
arrived and verdant Irish merchant requested a friend to show 

him Bedlam. Without explanation, he was 

sS-Exchtnge. taken into ^ e midst of the JewS > at t]ie Stock- 

Bxchange, at the height of its uproar, who be- 
gan to hustle him as a green duck. He rushed to his friend, 
and exclaimed in a loud whisper, "They're all loose, by — ! 
and I am off; 5 ' and he rushed out of the room. 

My last adventure in London was of a ridiculous character, 
but quite illustrative of English habits. The day previous 
to my departure, I was on my way to dinner with a friend, 
dressed according to etiquette, with silk stockings, powdered 
hair, and all the other appliances of fashion, and was thread- 



1784.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 267 

ing a narrow lane near St. Paul's, when I detected a pick- 
pocket, in the act of flirting a handkerchief 
from the pocket of a gentleman. On such oc- p"<S!pocfet. 
casions, custom had ordained a summary pun- 
ishment, on the spot. The culprit was dragged to the nearest 
pump, placed under it, and deluged with water until half 
drowned. Indignant at witnessing this daring transaction, 
in open daylight, T seized the villain by the collar. In the 
struggle, we both fell into a muddy gutter. I clung to him, 
and assisted in holding him under the pump, until I was 
completely drenched with mud and water. 

The last evening I spent in England, was in the capacious 
library of Surgeon Sharp, a man of eminence, and brother of 
the philanthropist Granville Sharp, who was a 
bachelor, and an inmate of his brother's house. 
I was, in a manner, enchained, for several hours, by this 
noble enthusiast in the cause of African emancipation and 
colonization. His ardor was so intense, that I could not ex- 
tricate myself from the earnest outpourings of his devoted 
zeal. With untiring effort, he had secured a territory on the 
coast of Africa, which he had named Sierra Leone ; and he 
had, at his individual expense, fitted out an expedition bear- 
ing the first emigrants ; but the ship was unfortunately lost, 
and all perished. Still he was boldly persevering. Mr. Sharp 
confided two bundles of books to my care, embracing his en- 
tire publications on emancipation and other congenial topics, 
directed to General Washington, which I subsequently de- 
livered to him at Mount Vernon. 

Some months before, while lounging in the same library, I 
had accidentally looked into a book, which had riveted my 
attention. It was an odd volume of a work which contained 
occasional, and chiefly domestic, letters of Igna- „ , 

o. -t ita/^. -r -it Ignatius Sancho. 

tius Sancho, an educated African. I purchased 

and read the work, and was impelled by the interest it ex- 



268 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1784. 

cited, to seek the humble residence of his widow, of whom he 
spoke with so much deep affection. As a pretext to cover 
the real object of my visit, I purchased a few articles from 
her little shop, and soon introduced myself, by a reference to 
the letters, frankly confessing, that my call was induced by 
sympathy and naked curiosity. I entered her dwelling, with 
strong prepossessions in her favor, which were amply con- 
firmed by her general appearance, the intelligence of her con- 
versation, and her warm sensibilities. She showed the 
original letters of Sancho, written with a free and manly hand. 
Her tears flowed copiously, on her referring to her deceased 
husband. She conducted me into a neat back parlor, prettily 
furnished, and introduced me to her family. Sancho was a 
jet black negro; and she, a mulatto. One of the daiighters, 
when we entered, was sitting at a harpsichord ; and a gentle- 
man, white in appearance, was singing with her in concert. 
One or two other white persons came in; and we spent a 
pleasant hour in conversation, interspersed with singing and 
music, and yielded to the females the same respectful atten- 
tion that we should have extended to white ladies. — " And 
why not ?" exclaims the philanthropist. The potent influence 
of prejudice cannot readily be subdued. A family of cul- 
tivated Africans, marked by elevated and refined feelings, 
was a spectacle I had never before witnessed. 

On the 21st of August, 1784, 1 embarked on board the ship 
George Washington, Captain Smith, on my return to Amer- 
ica. We weighed anchor, in a stiff gale and 
Voya^I. ard threatening atmosphere; and, by the time we 

reached Goodwin Sands, we were in the midst 
of a violent storm, surrounded by breakers, with the whole 
rake of the German ocean beating tremendously upon our 
larboard side. We were running under a reefed foresail ; the 
foremast rocking and straining at every plunge. The old 
captain, with his mouth half fall of tobacco, and his under 



1784.] Or, Memoirs of Ellcanah Watson. 269 

jaw in constant motion, was discharging the tobacco juice in 
every direction. I heard him say to the mate, " If the sail or 
topmast gives way, we are gone." Fortunately we had a 
most resolute and skilful pilot. A man forward critically 
watched the buoys, as we were obliged to follow a channel in 
the midst of breakers, the spray thick, the rain pouring in 
nearly a horizontal sheet. These obscurities made it ex- 
tremely difficult to trace the buoys, by which alone we were 
guided ; and the failure of a moment would probably have 
caused our immediate destruction. Happily we arrived off 
Deal in safety, and there landed our gallant pilot. We then 
steered directly before* the gale toward the Atlantic; but, 
during the night, the wind veered to the west, and we were 
detained for several days beating about the Channel. 

Although it was impossible for me to contemplate England, 
the home of my ancestors, in which I had found much to ad- 
mire, and had left many valued friends, without interest and 
emotion ; yet, I frankly confess, my sensations were warmer 
and deeper, as I viewed the hospitable shore of happy, bright, 
joyous Prance. 

During the voyage, I was involved in a serious difficulty 
with our worthy skipper, by a most frivolous occurrence. T 
record the incident, to exemplify the singular superstition 
which then prevailed among the most intelligent class of our 
seamen. Captain Smith I had known from my boyhood, as a 
man of sense, and of more than ordinary intelligence and culti- 
vation. I had observed, that our cook was in the habit of bring- 
ing egg-shells on deck, and carefully breaking 
them into small pieces, before they were thrown Sailors' ; 
into the sea. I was persuaded, that there was egg-shells? 11 " 
a hidden superstition under this singular prac- 
tice. Accordingly, I one evening seized the bowl containing 
the shells, and cast them overboard unbroken. The cook 
darted into the cabin ; and, in a moment, the captain rushed 



270 Men and Times of tht Revolution: 1 1^84. 

to the quarter-deck, and, approaching in a menacing attitude, 
abused me most violently. I could hardly believe him in 
earnest, until I saw his countenance actually distorted with 
rage and apprehension. It was casting feathers against the 
wind, to reason ; and it was dangerous to ridicule. He swore, 
that he had been to sea forty years, and had never known 
egg-shells thrown whole into the sea, but the old bitch, 
Mother Carey, got into them, and raised a gale of wind. I 
could scarcely suppress a smile ; and I was amazed, that a 
man of his intelligence and judgment should be the victim of 
such folly. However, the second or third night after, I was 
aroused by an unusual noise on deck, and the agitated mo- 
tion of the vessel. The egg-shells and the captain's denun- 
ciations flashed upon my mind. I hastened up the com- 
panion-way, and, by the vivid flashes of the lightning, saw 
the sailors aloft, striking sails, and preparing for a gale. The 
aspect was most appalling. The captain caught a glimpse of 
my face. " There I" he cried, " didn't I tell you so !" 

We were soon involved in all the horrors of a hurricane. 
At dawn, I crawled upon deck, and contemplated the fright- 
ful scene. The wind roared and whistled 
among the rigging and blocks ; the atmosphere 
was black and ominous ; the ocean, swollen into mountains, 
was fearfully convulsed ; the rain was dashing in torrents. 
Our ship was tight and sound ; and, by the vigilance of our 
old captain, under Providence, we survived the storm. To 
our great joy, the wind lulled, the clouds dispersed, and a 
bright sun gladdened our hearts ; although, for several hours 
after, we were exposed to a tremendous swell, which rolled 
our yards almost into the water. What connection existed 
between the storm and the egg-shells I could not determine ; 
but I had reason to believe, that the coincidence tended to 
confirm the faith of the skipper and sailors, in the powerful 
influence of Mother Carey. 



1784. j 0/', Mvtrioint of JSlkanah Watson. 271 

On the 3d of September, we struck soundings, in thirty 
fathoms water, off the coast of JNew Jersey, as was deter- 
mined by the coarse black gravel attached to the tallow at 
the bottom of our sounding lead. Standing north-east, on the 
3d of October, we were rejoiced by the cry of "Land." The 
wind was in our favor, and we ran along the coast of Long 
Island, by Point Judith ; we then passed Block Island, and 
were soon in the midst of the beautiful islands of Narragan- 
set Bay. 

An absence of more than five years, occupied in traversing 
various sections of Europe, had much obscured the recollec- 
tion of the features of my native land, and 
familiarized my mind to those of other coun- 
tries. On returning to America, I was able to view objects 
comparatively with a foreign eye. A clear blue sky, brighter 
and more numerous stars, broad fields of corn, wooden farm- 
houses, extensive forests, all varied the scene from a European 
landscape, and led me into a wide range of contemplation. 
I exulted in the comparative view of Europe and America, 
although scarcely two centuries had elapsed since the latter 
was the home of the untutored Indian and of savage beasts. 
I hoped to act my humble part, in contributing to the high 
destiny which awaited my country. 

We dropped anchor, abreast of Warwick Neck. The cap- 
tain being anxious to forward his letters, I tendered my ser- 
vices, and was put on shore, about ten o'clock at night. I 
wandered about with my three sailors, from dwelling to 
dwelling, in pursuit of a horse, and at length entered the 
spacious yard of a respectable farm-house. We knocked, 
and the first word I heard from an inhabitant 
on this side of the Atlantic, was the well-re- ^mlr™ 

membered salutation, "Walk in." I entered 
without ceremony, at this familiar sound, the door being 
without a bolt, and discovered, by a momentary flash, an 



272 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1784. 

old man blowing up a light. As the candle caught the flame, 
he surveyed us, and " Sit down, sit down, my friends," was 
his cordial greeting. u Where from?" " London," I replied, 
" and I want a horse, to proceed to Providence." " It is too 
late," he responded, "to-night. You are welcome to a bed 
with us." 

I decided to embrace his kindness; and, having dispatched 
the sailors, lighted a pipe with this hospitable farmer, whose 
curiosity led him to ask a thousand questions ; and his wife, 
lying abed, in the corner of the kitchen, soon joined in our 
chat. She expressed great regret, at not being able to pro- 
vide me with a warm supper ; but baked apples, rye and In- 
dian bread, and a pan of milk, afforded the materials of a 
delicious repast, and vividly recalled the recollections of my 
boyhood. I then retired to a neat and comfortable bed, in 
a commodious and well-furnished room. " These," I ex- 
claimed, as I reposed my head on the pillow, u are the bless- 
ings of an independent American farmer !" 

At early dawn, all was in motion, below, and about the 
house. I also arose, and with infinite pleasure contemplated, 
from my chamber windows, which were nicely shielded by 
paper curtains, a fine farm, in excellent order, and a barn- 
yard filled with noble cows, which the boys and women were 
engaged in milking. I soon took my generous host by the 
hand in the farm-yard, and was expressing to him my de- 
lighted emotions, in glowing language, when, to my utter as- 
tonishment, he responded with a heavy sigh, and evident 
marks of despondency and discontent. " Oh, yes, I have a 
fine farm, well-stocked, and owe nothing ; but these horrible 
taxes are devouring a poor farmer." Not know- 
America ^ n § ^is burdens, although every appearance 
Lecture on the indicated that thev could not be very heavy, 

Subject. lirr% ri . „ _ . . n „ , , \ 

"Jrray, bir, I inquired, " now much taxes do 
you pay in a year?" "About thirty dollars," he replied, 



1784.] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 273 

"and, before the war, they did not exceed three dollars." 
"Is it possible, so small a burden can give so much uneasi- 
ness. You are now, for thirty dollars annually, in the enjoy- 
ment of the blessings of liberty and independence. You 
know not how to prize the great privilege. Can you so soon 
have forgotten the common language during the Eevolution, 
'I will sacrifice half my property, to secure the rest.' I 
wish," I continued, " it had been possible for every farmer 
in the nation, to pass over the ground I have traversed the 
last five years in Europe, and witness the suffering and op- 
pression I have seen among the farmers there, governed at 
the point of the bayonet, and, even in England, overwhelmed 
with taxes, tithes, and rents. They would kiss the soil of 
America, and call it blessed, and raise their hearts in pious 
gratitude to the Giver of all good." I was pleased to see, 
that my morning lecture had made a favorable impression ; 
and I wished that I could have uttered it in the hearing of 
every discontented citizen of the republic. 

I called upon Mr. Brown, immediately on my arrival at 
Providence ; but I was so much changed by time and travel, 
that I was compelled to announce to him my name. The 
same incident occurred, a few days after, with my own father. 
I remained in the vicinity of Providence, for several weeks, 
and there became familiarly acquainted with General Greene, 
second, in the annals of our country, only to 

™- . . ... in n t . .... J i . General Greene. 

Washington nimseli, tor his military exploits 
and fame. He favored me with a letter of introduction to 
his immortal chief, which was of inestimable service, in af- 
fording me a delightful interview with him, at a subsequent 
period. 

On the 3d of December, '84, I embarked on lewTork 

board a sloop packet, for New York, with Kufus 
King, Elbridge Gerry, and Judge Sullivan, on their way to 
Congress. I record this fact, to exhibit a striking illustration 
12* 



274 Men and Times of the Revolution ; [1784. 

of the mode and facilities of travelling, existing at that 
period, even upon so important an avenue as the direct 
route between Boston and New York. We were driven 
through Long Island Sound, by a furious gale. The shores 
on both sides appeared in an advanced stage of im- 
provement, mingled with tracts of unreclaimed forest-land. 
We passed Hurl-gate, with considerable exposure. A short 
canal on Long Island, with a lock, would readily obviate this 
dangerous navigation. 

I landed in New- York, for the first time. It had been 

deeply involved in the sufferings and sacrifices 
New°York. °f a l° n g G ^ Y ^ war > an( l I was surprised to see, 

on approaching it, a vast multitude of masts 
already clustered in its docks. The elasticity of its rebound 
has been truly wonderful; and I saw in it a sure presage of 
its ultimate destiny, sustained, as it will be, by the vigorous 
impulses of a youthful interior country, in the full glow of 
health, native affluence, and independence. 

Here I remained a month, under the roof of my uncle, 
John Sloss Hobart. In this interval, I made an excursion 

upon Long Island. At Brooklyn, I passed over 
LongTsiand. ^ e scene °f ^ murderous conflict in 1776. 

Had the British pressed with vigor their advan- 
tages on that disastrous day, Washington's entire army must 
have been sacrificed; and we should, probably, have re- 
mained British Colonies, for a long term of persecution and 
suffering. 

Hampton Plains spread before me like a sea, without a tree 
to interrupt the view over the wide expanse. The pretty 
village of Hampton stands upon its western border. Hunt- 
ington was then a small village, with a secure harbor, from 
which light craft plied to New York, bearing the produce of 
the country. The soil of this island is light, requiring, to 
ensure successful culture, to be constantly replenished with 



1784.] Or, Memoirs of Elkandh Watson. 275 

manure. I feel confident, that the practice prevalent in Eng- 
land of using marine sand, which is transported some distance 
into the interior, or salt itself, would be highly advantageous 
upon this land. 

On my return, I again met in New York the Blind Philos- 
opher, Dr. Moyes, with whom I became acquainted at Bir- 
mingham. At his request, I conducted him to 
the Hudson, a little north of the Battery, and Dr. Moyes, 
described the course of the river. He then Philosopher, 
pointed his cane up the stream, desiring me to 
explain the objects and distances in that direction ; continuing 
to move his cane from point to point, he inquired relative to 
every spot with the utmost exactness. When this examina- 
tion of the bay and river was concluded, he exclaimed, " It is 
the finest harbor, and the most beautiful view, I have ever 
seen, and it will never be effaced from my memory !" 

New York then contained about fourteen hundred houses, 
and twenty thousand inhabitants. The streets were very 
irregular. The sad vestiges of a desolating war met the eye, 
at every point. In the subsequent tour from New York to 
Philadelphia, I passed over and examined many scenes of 
thrilling interest, associated with our recent history. We 
crossed the Hudson, in an open ferry boat, to Paulus Hook ; 
and the Hackensack and the Passaic, upon the ice. The 
first night we spent at Newark, a handsome town, with 
spacious streets, bordered with rows of trees ; the contiguous 
country was celebrated for its fine orchards and advanced 
culture. Since. my return, I noticed, with regret, the general 
absence of that agricultural science, and high tillage, so char- 
acteristic of England. 

The next morning, we proceeded in a stage- 
sleigh, and late in the evening reached Prince- miTddphia. 
ton; and, the day after, we arrived at Phila- 
delphia. During mv sojourn in that city, I dined with 



276 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1784. 

Robert Morris. He lived in great splendor ; and lie bore upon 
his marked features the stamp of that nervous and powerful 
genius, which he had so eminently displayed in his vast mer- 
cantile enterprises, and distinguished financial ability in the 
critical crises of the last campaigns. When I contemplated the 
advanced condition of Philadelphia, and recollected the fact, 
that, in 1681, its site was occupied by a primeval forest, my 
mind was impressed with wonder and admiration. The streets 
are generally broad, extending from the Delaware to the 
Schuylkill river, a distance of three miles, and crossed by 
others at right angles. It is known that the original plan of 
that city was conceived in the enlarged mind of Penn, who 
embraced posterity in his views. Most of the other American 
cities originated by chance, and received their formation from 
accident or caprice. 

Philadelphia embraced numerous squares ; the streets were 
well paved, with wide and clean side-walks. 

desorfbe§ hla ' -^ was dimly lighted, in the same manner as 
London, but efficiently guarded by a police and 
watch. It contained about six thousand dwellings, chiefly 
built of brick, and a population of fifty thousand. The prison 
and the State House were the only edifices of interest ; the 
latter gloriously associated with the events and progress of 
Independence. It was here that the first Congress assembled, 
in 1774, * and here was enacted the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence, July 4th, 1776. The exports of Philadelphia were 
transported to every section of the world, and comprehended 
flour, wheat, iron, lumber and provisions. I was gratified to 
observe an infusion of French manners and habits, in the 
social amusements of the people, and in the aspect of their 
refined circles. 



* I think this an error. The first Congress met in Carpenters' Hall, Phil- 
adelphia. — Editor. 



1785.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 277, 

I left Philadelphia, on the 13th of January, 1785, in a stage, 
and crossed the Schuylkill, over a floating bridge of three 
hundred feet in length, jointed with large hinges, by which it 
was elevated and depressed in the action of the tide. This 
bridge was constructed by the British, in '78. Our road ran 
parallel to the Delaware. We found the country pleasantly 
occupied by spacious farms, with excellent enclosures, and 
orchards, and adorned with villages and country seats. 

Wilmington, in the State of Delaware, is pleasantly situated 
upon an eminence on the Delaware river. It 
appeared regularly laid out, and contained Delaware. 011, 
about two hundred and fifty neat brick dwell- 
ings, nearly all of recent erection. At the Brandy wine creek, 
near this village, we stopped to examine the most extensive 
flouring mills on the continent, which had in operation a new 
kind of machinery, invented by Evans, and calculated to ef- 
fect, in manufacturing, an immense saving of manual labor. 

The country, along the road to Christiana, was principally 
covered with the original forest. We arrived that evening 
at Elkton, near the confluence of Elk Creek 
with the Chesapeake. At this place, Washing- Maryland, 

ton was encamped, on the landing of Howe in 
'77, and here he commenced his retreat. The roads from the 
Elk to Baltimore were excessively bad, and the country thin- 
ly settled, and chiefly in its primitive forest condition. The 
stage was merely a common wagon, with spring seats, and 
canvas top and sides. In the character of these accommoda- 
tions, we were a century behind England. 

The appearance of Baltimore had totally changed, since 
my visit in '78. It included, at that time, about 
a thousand dwellings and six thousand inhabi- Alexandria, 
tants ; both had doubled in the short term of 
seven years. I proceeded to Alexandria, travelling over in- 
famous roads and through extensive woodlands, as if in a 



278 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1785. 

newly-occupied territory. The second day after our depart- 
ure from Baltimore, we reached the banks of the Potomac, 
opposite the former city, and crossed the river in a barge, 
contending, at considerable risk, with the floating ice. Alex- 
andria had made decided advances, since '78, but afforded 
no comparison, in its progress, to its vigorous rival, Balti- 
more. 

I had feasted my imagination, for several days, on the near 
prospect of a visit to Mount Vernon, the seat of Washington. 
No pilgrim ever approached Mecca, with deeper 
Visit Mount enthusiasm. I arrived there, on the afternoon 
Washington. of January 23d, '85. I was the bearer of the 
letter from General Greene, with another from 
Colonel Fitzgerald, one of the former aids of Washington, 
and also the books from Granville Sharp. Although assured, 
that these credentials would secure me a respectful reception, 
I felt an unaccountable diffidence, as I came into the presence 
of this great man. I found him at table, with Mrs. Washing- 
ton and his private family, and was received with the native 
dignity and urbanity so peculiarly combined in the character 
of a soldier and eminent private gentleman. He soon put me 
at ease, by unbending, in a free and affable conversation. 

The cautious reserve, which wisdom and policy dictated, 
whilst engaged in rearing the glorious fabric of our independ- 
ence, was evidently the result of consummate prudence, and 
not characteristic of his nature. Although I had frequently 
seen him in the progress of the Eevolution, and had corre- 
sponded with him from France, in '81 and '82, this was the 
first occasion on which I had contemplated him in his private 
relations. I observed a peculiarity in his smile, which seemed 
to illuminate his eye; his whole countenance 
^private°iife. beamed with intelligence, while it commanded 
confidence and respect. The gentleman who 
had accompanied me from Alexandria, left in the evening; 



1785.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 279 

and I remained alone in the enjoyment of the society of 
Washington, for two of the richest days of my life. I saw 
him reaping the reward of his illustrious deeds, in the quiet 
shade of his beloved retirement. He was at the matured age 
of fifty-three. Alexander died, before he reached that period 
of life ; and he had immortalized his name. How much 
stronger and nobler the claims of Washington to immor- 
tality ! In the impulses of mad, selfish ambition, Alexander 
acquired fame, by wading to the conquest of the world through 
seas of blood. Washington, on the contrary, was parsi- 
monious of the blood of his countrymen, stood forth, the 
pure and virtuous champion of their rights, and formed for 
them, (not himself,) a mighty empire. 

To have communed with such a man, in the bosom of his 
family, I shall always regard as one of the highest privileges 
and most cherished incidents of my life. I found him kind 
and benignant in the domestic circle, revered and beloved by 
all around him ; agreeably social, without ostentation ; delight- 
ing in anecdote and adventures, without assumption; his 
domestic arrangements, harmonious and systematic. His ser- 
vants seemed to watch his eye, and to anticipate his every 
wish ; hence, a look was equivalent to a command. His ser- 
vant Billy, the faithful companion of his military career, was 
always at his side. Smiling content animated and beamed on 
every countenance m his presence. 

The first evening I spent under the wing of his hospitality, 
we sat a full hour at table, by ourselves, without the least 
interruption, after the family had retired. I was extremely 
oppressed with' a severe cold and excessive coughing, con- 
tracted from the exposure of a harsh winter journey. He 
pressed me to use some remedies, but I declined doing so. 
As usual after retiring, my coughing increased. When some 
time had elapsed, the door of my room was gently opened ; 
and, on drawing my bed-curtains, to my utter astonishment, 



280 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1785. 

I beheld Washington himself, standing at my bed-side, with 

a bowl of hot tea in his hand. I was mortified, 

Washington an d distressed beyond expression. This little 

waiting on his . ' . -, . ^ . x -.« .^ 

sick guest. incident, occurring m common lile with an 

ordinary man, would not have been noticed; 
bat, as a trait of the benevolence and private virtue of Wash- 
ington, it deserves to be recorded. 

He modestly waived all allusions to the events in which he 

had acted so glorious and conspicuous a part. Much of his 

conversation had reference to the interior country, and to the 

opening of the navigation of the Potomac, by canals and 

locks, at the Seneca, the Great, and the Little 

SSlCif Falls - His mind appeared to be deeply ab- 
sorbed in that object, then in earnest contem- 
plation. He allowed me to take minutes from his former 
journals on this subject, of which the following is a partial 
summary. 

" The Stock of the company is divided into five hundred 
shares, at fifty pounds sterling each. The canal company has 
been incorporated by both Maryland and Vir- 
' ginia." Washington had accepted the Presi- 
dency of it. " The preliminary preparations are in full train, 
to commence operations in the ensuing Spring, not only to re- 
move the obstacles in the Potomac to a boat navigation from 
Georgetown to Fort Cumberland, a distance of one hundred 
and ninety miles, but to the ultimate construction of a canal 
to Lake Erie, which is intended not only to give a direction 
of the fur trade from Detroit to Alexandria, but to attract 
the eventual trade of the country north of the Ohio, which 
now slumbers in a state of nature." This scheme was wor- 
thy of the comprehensive mind of Washington. 

To demonstrate the practicability and the policy of divert- 
ing the trade of the immense interior world, yet unexplored, 
to the Atlantic cities, especially in view of the idea that the 



1785.] 



Or, Memoirs of MJcanah Watson. 



281 



Mississippi would be opened by Spain, was his constant and 
favorite theme. To elucidate the probability also, that the 
Detroit fur trade would take this direction, he produced the 
following estimates, which I copied, in his presence and with 
his aid, from the original manuscript : 

" From Detroit, at the head of Lake Erie, via Fort Pitt, 
(now Pittsburg,) and Fort Cumberland, to the head of the 
Potomac, is . . . . . 607 miles. 



To Eichmond 
" Philadelphia 
Albany 
Montreal 



a 



840 
741 
943 
955 



Thus it appeared, that Alexandria is three hundred and 
forty-eight miles nearer Detroit than Montreal, with only two 
carrying places of about forty miles. 

Since my travels in 1779, 1 had been deeply and constantly 
impressed with the importance of constructing canals, to con- 
nect the various waters of America. This con- 
viction was confirmed, by the examination of cTndsf 1106 ° f 
numerous canals in Europe, and travelling ex- 
tensively on several of them. Hearing little else, for two 
days, from the persuasive tongue of this great man, I was, I 
confess, completely under the influence of the canal mania, 
and it enkindled all my enthusiasm. 

"Washington pressed me earnestly, to settle on the banks 
of the Potomac. At his suggestion, I proceeded up the 
southern shore of the river, twenty -two miles from Alexan- 
dria, to examine the proposed route of the canal. The ex- 
tent of this artificial navigation was designed to be about a 
mile, respectively, at the Seneca, Great, and Little Falls. 
Eleven miles above Alexandria, are the Lower Falls, 
where the river descends in curling waves thirty-six feet in a 
quarter of a mile. Here the contemplated canal will be a 
mile and a quarter, situated on the north side of the river. 



282 Men and Times of the Revolution; L L 785. 

We reached, eleven miles further, ine Great Falls, which are 
a stupendous exhibition of hydraulic power. The whole 
river rushing down amid rocks and impediments, wave press- 
ing upon wave, like the surging of the ocean in a tempest, 
produced a roaring which we distinctly heard at the distance 
of a mile. At this place, the entire fall is seventy feet, em- 
bracing a vertical descent of twenty-three feet, which adds 
infinitely to the imposing scene. Here existed the most se- 
rious obstacle to the execution of the work.* 

I travelled across the country, on horseback, from Alexan- 
dria to Annapolis, a distance of twenty -four miles ; the roads 

were excellent, but obstructed with innumer- 
desc^ed!' a ^ e g ates - I crossed the Severn, a bold stream, 

that admitted vessels of three hundred tons for 
twelve miles. Annapolis, situated at the mouth of the river, 
commands a fine view of the Chesapeake. The State House, 
the Capitol of Maryland, was reputed to be the largest and 
most elegant edifice in America. The chamber in which Wash- 
ington presented his resignation, contains an excellent paint- 
ing of him, with Eochambeau and La Fayette in the group. 
On my return, I rode in a stage-sleigh from 
&ning h Philadelphia to New York, slipping over the 

snow at the rate of eight or ten miles an hour. 
I had never, previous to the present journey, travelled in 

* In 1808, I again visited these places. Canals and locks had been com- 
pleted, round the Little and Great Falls, and also at the Shendandoah and 
Seneca Falls. Considerable improvements had been made in the bed of the 
river, above these works. The navigation of the Shenandoah, an important 
branch of the Potomac, had been opened, at an expense of nearly half a 
million of dollars ; but much still remained to be done, to perfect the navi- 
gation of the Potomac to Fort Cumberland. As the Potomac is a rapid 
stream, this inland navigation can never successfully compete with the Lake 
Erie Canal, to the Hudson River, especially as the sloop navigation, from 
Albany to New York, is superior to any in America, if not to any in the 
world. (1821.) 



1786.J Ot\ Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 2ud 

this manner; and I thought it preferable, even to English 
post-chaises, for ease and expedition. I resumed my travels 
eastward from New York, on horseback, to the Harlem river; 
the island appeared barren, rocky, and broken. The road, 
which ran parallel to the Sound, was unpleasant and without 
interest. In this journey, I became personally acquainted 
with two of the most eminent poets of America, whom I 
met at Fairfield, in Connecticut: John Trumbull, and Dr. 
Dwight. 

My former partner in France, M. Cossoul, came to Amer- 
ica the following summer. We renewed our connection ; he 
was to proceed to Port-au-Prince, and I was to return to North 
Carolina in co-operation with him. In conformity with this 
arrangement, I left Newport for the South, in March, 1786. 
I proceeded from Baltimore, in a Norfolk packet, and 
occupied three days in sailing down the noble Chesapeake. 
"We dropped anchor, in the bold harbor of Norfolk, in 
which were lying many large ships and numerous craft, 
loaded with tobacco and other products from James 
river. 

Norfolk was the most prosperous town of Virginia, before 
it was burned by Dunmore in 75. It was, at 
the time I saw it, recovering from the blow, ^MnjT" 
and already presented the aspect of a thriving 
city. Here I was obliged to delay two or three days, waiting 
for some conveyance to Edenton, North Carolina. Despair- 
ing of success, I hired two negroes, to convey me, with my 
baggage, in a canoe, up Nansemond river to Suffolk, a dis- 
tance of thirty-five miles. It was not only an extremely 
awkward and unpleasant mode of travelling, but hazardous ; 
and it exposed me to many inconveniences and mortifications 
on the route. Yet I enjoyed it, as affording a fine oppor- 
tunity of seeing the river, and the beautiful plantations on its 
shores. 



284 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1786. 



• 



At Suffolk, I had no alternative but to embark in a return- 
ing coal-cart, and with one miserable horse, and a black boy 

as driver. I embraced this mode of conveyance, 
SovSSg. m or( ler to reach the house of Mr. Granby, a 

wealthy planter of Grates County, where I had 
been hospitably entertained in '77. I was compelled to travel 
two hours, in intense darkness, in this Tyburn-like style, 
amid a storm of rain ; and I arrived, dripping with wet, and 
bespattered with mud. On my arrival in this humble con- 
dition, I found the mansion occupied by a dancing party ; 
and, although I endeavored to recall to his mind the previous 
hospitality I had received, Mr. Granby received me coldly, 

and had no recollection of my person, and evi- 
b^Mr^Granby. Gently, from my suspicious mode of travelling, 

hesitated in receiving my story. Yet I had no 
alternative, as it began to rain furiously, and there was no 
tavern within several miles. At length, he began to unbend, 
and my experience in the world enabled me soon to surmout 
his scruples ; but my sensibility was deeply wounded by the 
occurrence. I was in the habit, in the succeeding two or three 
years, of often seeing Mr. Grranby, who never ceased his apol- 
ogies. 

In the succeeding summer, during a journey which I shall 
immediately narrate, I again, at the close of day, for the third 
time in my wanderings, approached the mansion of this gentle- 
man. He now received me as he might have- received a 
General; and, in truth, I and my man Mills made quite a 

military display. In obedience to the fashion 
Costume. °^ ^ e ^ a 7> ^ wore a coc ked hat and a blue coat, 

with a crimson velvet cape, while Mills was 
equipped in a half-military coatee, with pistol-holsters, and a 
buffalo skin over his saddle. Mr. Granby appeared much 
gratified at the opportunity, as he said, of expiating his 
previous offence against Southern hospitality. Such are the 



1786.] O, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 285 

ordinary effects, which I have often observed, produced by 
external appearances. 

I remained at Edenton and in its vicinity, for several months. 
In August, I commenced an extensive tour in the interior of 
North Carolina. The pursuit of health in its elevated dis- 
tricts, and the promptings of curiosity, were my motives. I 
started in a sulky, with Mills, my sprightly black lad, as my 
attendant, on horseback, both well armed. Our route lay 
along the south borders of the great Dismal Swamp. A 
scheme had been suggested by Washington, 
previous to the Eevolution, of connecting the Sulky Travel- 
Chesapeake with Albemarle Sound, by a canal Swamp. 
to penetrate this tract, which may be supplied 
with water from Lake Drummond, lying in the centre of the 
swamp. 

Our road traversed the country, near the boundary of Vir- 
ginia and North Carolina, which is generally low and sandy 
although bearing majestic pines. We crossed the Black 
Eiver, near its confluence with the Nottoway. At one point, 
I was compelled to employ oxen, to transport my luggage 
through the slough of the deep muddy roads. On crossing 
this ferry, we ascended a considerable hill, the first I had seen 
in three months, and which seemed to afford a purer air. 
From thence to Murfree's landing, on the Meherrin, the road 
was good, the country level ; producing corn, flax, and some 
inferior tobacco, but sparsely settled. 

After crossing the river, in a wretched flat, we ascended a 
sharp hill to Murfree's plantation, then a mere landing-place, 
but which has since expanded into the important town of 
Murfreesborough. In an excavation, on this ascent, I ob- 
served a wide stratum of perfectly defined ma- 
rine shells. Their position is one hundred Sugh!" 
miles from the ocean. Here I spent a day 
with Major Murfree, an intrepid officer of the Eevolution, 



286 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1786. 

and found his mind full of projects for the development of 
the great natural advantages of his position. 

Approaching Halifax on the Koanoke, I was delighted to 
see the country broken by small hills, here and there streams 
purling and fretting along, and an occasional exhibition of 
slight veins of rock. While receiving the hospitality of Col- 
onel Ashe at this place, his lady related to me the following 
amusing anecdote. When Cornwallis's army passed the resi- 
dence of Colonel Ashe, she remained to protect 
TarTettm 6 and the Property. Cornwallis and Tarleton visited 
her. In the course of conversation, the latter 
remarked, that he had a great desire to see his famous rival 
in partisan warfare, Colonel Washington : — to which she fear- 
lessly replied, "If you had looked behind you, Sir, at the 
battle of the Cowpens, you would most certainly have seen 
him." The retort was severe and cutting, as the fact was 
notorious, that Washington was in full chase of Tarleton, 
personally, for a considerable distance, on that occasion. 

Immediately after leaving Halifax, the country assumed all 
the characteristics of a northern region. Our road led us up 
and down hills, over an abundance of stones ; 
Warrenton. "^he brooks dancing briskly across the track. 
The children were ruddy, and the people 
healthy and vigorous. Warrenton was just emerging from 
the forest ; but, possessed a refined neighborhood, a salubri- 
ous air, temperate climate, and pure, delightful water. Just 
extricated from the baneful malaria of the low country, I 
seemed to receive here a new tenure of life. 

At Warrenton, I met in the midst of a crowd, at a tavern, 

Colonel H., formerly a member of Congress, to whom I had 

a letter of introduction from Philadelphia. 

Election* *' After our exchanging the usual civilities, and 

my promising to visit him at his plantation, we 

parted. I proceeded to the new court-house, standing amid 



1786 J Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 287 

trees and stumps, to witness a North Carolina election, then 
in full progress. I unhappily met there a little Irishman, 
whom I had known in Edenton, and who was the unlucky 
cause of subjecting me to a most mortifying embarrassment. 
He soon exclaimed, "Have you seen the sight?" "What 
sight ?" " Follow me." We pressed through the mob, in- 
termixed with some respectable planters, and a few females- 
" There !" says he, " did you ever look upon the like ?" 
pointing to the most obese woman I ever had seen ; and, 
what was more striking, she appeared to be an active leader 
at the polls. On retiring, my malignant star led me again to 
stumble on Colonel H. "Well, Colonel," I remarked, "I 
have seen one of the strangest sights in the world, — a real 
phenomenon ; I will show you ;" and, in pretty much the 
same language, which the Irishman had used, I pointed out 
to him the lady. He made no reply ; but, he observed that 
he should expect me at his plantation to meet some friends at 
dinner, the next day. I thought no more of the adventure, 
until, approaching the mansion of Colonel H., just as we 
emerged from a little copse of trees, I perceived, to my utter 
dismay, the same lady that I had pointed out to him, sitting 
on a piazza, the colonel walking near her, and a group of 
ladies and gentlemen at the extremity. I reined in my horse, 
determined to make a precipitate retreat, as the best way to 
extricate myself from my awkward situation ; but, as Mills 
assured me we had been observed, I saw my retreat was cut 
off, and I decided to make the best of the affair. 

Colonel H. met me cordially ; and I was immediately in- 
troduced to the lady, as his mother. My embarrassment and 
mortification were evident ; but I was soon relieved from my 
awkward position, by her kindness and affability. I at once 
formed one of the members of the family, and passed in it 
several most agreeable days. I never met with a more sen- 
sible, spirited old lady. She was a great politician ; and I 



288 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1786. 

was assured, that she had more political influence, and ex- 
erted it with greater effect, than any man in her county. 
Colonel H. had been educated at Princeton, was a prominent 
party leader, and had been a distinguished member of Con- 
gress. 

My time was amply occupied in social convivialities, wan- 
dering about the country ; in deer hunting, and other rural 
amusements. At one of these hunting parties, I made an- 
other ridiculous fj faux pas." Colonel H. had invited a party 

of neighboring gentlemen to dine, and, a hunt 
S U Warrenton? a ^ er dinner, in compliment to his guest. I was 

no sportsman, but was anxious to see the sport, 
and, mounted with my gun, rode to an abandoned old tobacco 
field. A party of negroes had preceded us with a pack of 
hounds, to range a circuit of woods, and to insure us game. 
We were placed in proper positions across the field; and it 
was insisted, against my earnest expostulation, that I should 
occupy the point where it was very certain the deer would 
break upon us. In a few minutes, we heard the distant yell 
of the hounds, approaching nearer and nearer. All dropped 
upon one knee, with guns cocked. We heard the rustling o± 
leaves and bushes : I was all animation, alive with excite- 
ment at the opening scene. In a twinkling, two noble deer 
burst into the clearing, directly in front of me, with the 
hounds in full cry at their heels. They paused an instant, — 
their heads erect, — their eyes expanded. Instead of instantly 
firing, as I should have done, I yielded to a sudden impulse, 
fearing they would escape, and I cried out, "Here they 
come I" In a moment they darted off, and I fired at random 
among the bushes. All raised a hearty laugh at my ex- 
pense, and required no further evidence that I was no sports- 
man. 

On the evening succeeding my departure from the mansion 
of Colonel H., I arrived at Nutbush, at the elegant seat of 



1786.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 289 

Judge Williams, whom I had engaged to visit. This was the 
same gentleman who was called a Mulatto, in 
a book of travels by one Smith, a worthless ^fS^' 
Tory. The judge had a swart complexion, but 
was an accomplished gentleman, possessing high talents, and 
genuine Southern hospitality. Travellers with any preten- 
sions to respectability, seldom stop at the wretched taverns ; 
but custom sanctions their freely calling at any planter's res- 
idence, and he seems to consider himself the party obliged 
by this freedom. 

The country was beautiful, in the vicinity of Nutbush. Its 
productions were chiefly tobacco, corn, pease, wheat; and 
large quantities of pork, lard, deer-skins and bees- wax, were 
also exported. A happy forbearance preserved me from com- 
mitting an act which would have embittered my subsequent 
life. Travelling after dark in the neighborhood of Nutbush 
Mills, a man suddenly sprang from the wood 
on horseback, upon Mills, who was in advance, Nutbushf 

with the apparent intention of dismounting him 
and robbing me. Mills recoiled back on my carriage, pistol 
in hand. I ordered him to hold his fire ; and at the same 
time I drew and cocked my own pistol. The person followed 
close in the rear of the carriage. I commanded him to keep 
off, and several times was almost in the act of firing on him. 
On reaching the Nutbush opening he disappeared. While 
in the act of narrating the adventure to Judge Williams, the 
very man entered the room, and, to my utter astonishment, 
proved to be his own son, a wandering lunatic. 

From this place I proceeded westward, crossing the head of 
Tar and Neuse rivers. The land was generally of a superior 
quality; and the weather was temperate and 
delightful, although it was mid-summer. The ^T — d Neuse 
country was comparatively new and thinly oc- 
cupied. The settlements, however, extended to the West 



io 



290 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1786. 

several hundred miles, and were increasing in population, 
with unexampled rapidity. 

The ensuing day, I reached Hillsborough upon the little 

Eno. It contained forty dwelling-houses, a 
describe d?^ h ' church, court-house, and academy, — a feeble 

lamp, — but it was earnestly fostered, in the ex- 
pectation that its flame would extend and gradually spread, 
until its benign rays should illuminate the minds of that be- 
nighted region. No State, perhaps, had at that period per- 
formed so little, to promote the cause of education, science, 
and the arts, as North Carolina. A cultivated and refined 
posterity now occupies that charming territory. The lower 
classes of that region were then in a condition of great men- 
tal degradation. The vicinity of Hillsborough was, however, 
in an advanced state of agricultural improvement, and em- 
braced a very genteel society. 

, We forded the Eno with difficulty, and were ferried over 
the Haw, a branch of Cape Fear river, after traversing a 
fertile tract called Hawfield, occupied by a mongrel race of 

independent but ignorant settlers, known as 
fcS-irish: 116 the " Scotch-Irish." I examined with pleasure 

the spot where the indefatigable Colonel Lee, in 
1781, with his partisan corps, surprised and cut to pieces a 
regiment of Tories on their way to join Cornwallis, at the 
moment they were huzzaing for King George, under the fatal 
impression that they were surrounded by Tarleton's corps, 
who lay only a few miles in advance. 

I soon after crossed the Buffalo river, by crawling along a 

slippery log, whilst a negro swam the horses. I occupied 

several hours at Guilford Court-House and the 

Guilford Court- neighborhood, in examining the ground upon 

Battle-ground, which occurred the great conflict between 

Greene and Cornwallis. The gallantry of the 
well-poised, hard-fought battle, and the momentous conse- 



1786.] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 291 

quences which followed, in the retreat and ultimate capture of 
Cornwallis, will forever commemorate this scene, in the annals 
of America. " Here," said my guide, "is the spot where 
Colonel Washington forced the British lines ; there the canno- 
nade began ; yonder the contending armies closed ; at the west 
end of that old field, the British first formed ; at this extremity 
Greene drew up his Continentals ; in that thick wood on the 
north, were stationed the Virginia and North Carolina mili- 
tia ; the latter fled at the first fire, while the former stood as 
firm as veterans. Mark those trees, their limbs cropped and 
torn by the balls, on their messages of death. On this road 
Greene slowly and sullenly retreated before his crippled 
enemy, well covered by the horse of Lee and Washington. 
Here rest the bones of the American dead ; there the British 
repose." 




Mr. Watson and the White Savage, Page 298. 



CHAPTER XI 



The succeeding day, I pursued the route of Cornwallis in 
his advance, and entered the possessions of the happy Mora- 
vians, so justly distinguished for their piety, 
Settlement. industry, and admirable police. The road from 

Guilford to Salem was good, and the country 
pleasant. The ground was easily cleared of the timber, and 
prepared for cultivation. The average price was two dollars 
per acre, of the first quality of land, while on the Tennessee 
river it might then be purchased for a shilling and sixpence 
per acre. In the general face of the country, — the tempera- 
ture of the climate, the purity of the air, and the exuberance 
of the soil, this region closely resembles the South of France, 
although several degrees nearer the equator. 



1786.] Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 293 

The moment I touched the boundary of the Moravians, I 
noticed a marked and most favorable change in the appear- 
ance of buildings and farms ; and even the cattle seemed 
larger, and in better condition. Here, in combined and well 
directed effort, all put shoulders to the wheel, which ap- 
parently moves on oily springs. "We passed, in our ride, 
New Garden, a settlement of Quakers from Nantucket. 
They too, were exemplary and industrious. 
The generality of the planters in this State de- segment. 

pend upon negro labor, and live scantily in a 
region of affluence. In the possessions of the Moravians and 
Quakers, all labor is performed by whites. Every farm looks 
neat and cheerful ; the dwellings are tidy and well furnished, 
abounding in plenty. 

In the evening, I attended service at the Moravian chapel. 
This was a spacious room in a large edifice, adorned with 
that neat and simple elegance, which was a peculiar trait of 
these brethren and their Quaker neighbors. On our first en- 
trance, only two or three persons were visible ; but, the mo- 
ment the organ sounded, several doors were simultaneously 
opened. The men were ushered in on one side, and the 
women on the other ; and in one minute the seats were filled, 
and the devotees arranged for worship. The devotions, on 
that occasion, were merely chanting a melodious German an- 
them, accompanied by the organ. 

In the morning, I was introduced to Mr. Bargee, their prin- 
cipal. He conducted me through all their manufactories, and 
communicated to me, with much intelligence, many facts in 
relation to the tenets and habits of this devout and laborious 
sect. Salem comprehended about forty dwellings, and occu- 
pies a pleasant situation. The founders of the 
establishment had emigrated from Bethlehem, described, 

thirty years before. They purchased a tract of 
about ninety thousand acres of excellent land, agreeably in- 



294 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1786. 

tersected by the head-waters of the Yadkin. The society- 
embraced about a thousand persons, occupying several vil- 
lages, and scattered over their territory on good farms. 
Every house in Salem was supplied with water, brought in 
conduits a mile and a half. In all respects, social, moral, and 
religious, they were identical with the brethren at Bethlehem, 
whom I have already described. 

I crossed the Yadkin at the ferry, where Greene, by a hair- 
breadth, escaped the pursuit of Cornwallis, he having reached 

one shore with his army, when his pursuer ap- 
Saiisbur^ m ' peared on the opposite bank. Salisbury was 

a pleasant village, containing fifty dwelling- 
houses and a large stone prison. The road to Charlotte, in 
Mecklenburg county, was equal to any English turnpike, and 
traversed a beautiful level. 

I carried letters to the courteous General Polk, and re- 
mained two days at his residence, in the delightful society of 
his charming family. Having expressed a wish to visit the 
Catawba Indians, General Polk accompanied me to the In- 
dian foot-path. This I pursued alone on horseback, leaving 
Mills with my carriage at the tavern. My curiosity had been 
strongly excited, to see an Indian people in their native sav- 
age condition, so that I might contrast them with the polish 
and refinement of France I confess, that it was somewhat 
trying to my nerves, to penetrate, thus solitarily without a 
guide or protector, into the mazes of a gloomy wilderness, 
and amid the haunts of a savage race* 

When I entered the first village, the young Indians and 
squaws fled in every direction, the men being absent on a 

hunting expedition. It was some time before I 
visit the could find the residence of their king or chief, 

Indians. New-Kiver, alias General Scott. At length, 

an old squaw pointed to a log house, where I 
was kindly received by the old king on his crutches. He 



1786.] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 295 

spoke no English. ; and, to induce him to send for a person to 
interpret for us, I intimated by signs, that I had an important 
communication to make. On this, he dispatched a runner 
across the Catawba river, for an interpreter. In about an 
hour, his cabin was thronged with savage warriors, and among 
them was one who had been educated at William and Mary 
College, a sensible and well-informed person, but 
a perfect Indian in appearance and habits. I tadian. e(i 

stated to them the probability of a new war with 
England, on account of that government's having retained 
the western posts on our territory, in violation of the treaty 
of peace. The king lighted a large pipe, and we each took 
three or four whiffs. I produced my bottle of rum, my only 
credential. We circulated the bottle and pipe alternately, 
drinking from the former, without the intervention of any 
other vessel. I observed every countenance sedate and atten- 
tive ; and, although they appeared warmly interested in the 
event, they maintained, in the discussion in which they en- 
gaged, the utmost decorum, one only speaking at a time. 
In this council, and strolling through the village with the 
educated Indian, I spent the residue of the day. We entered 
their cabins, where I saw several straight-limbed, handsome 
young girls, daubed with painty and decorated with feathers, 
rings, and brooches. 

I proceeded afterward to a white tavern, where I lay down 
in my clothes, with my pistols under my head. My curiosity 
was but partially satisfied ; and I returned the next day to the 
Indian wigwam, obtaining all the information I desired, and 
seeing enough to afford abundant sources of reflection and 
meditation. I found among them a degree of civil hospitality 
and submissive kindness, which would have done no discredit 
to their white neighbors. The wife of the chief fed my horse, 
and supplied me with a meal of smoked venison, placed in a 
small tub upon the floor* She did all in her power to render 



296 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1786. 

me comfortable, if not with the grace of a Parisian lady, un- 
doubtedly with equal kindness of heart. 

These Indians were extremely nasty, wallowing in filth, 
having coarse fare and rude accommodations. 
tiiTTribe.° f In common with every other Indian tribe in 
proximity to the whites, they exhibited a mel- 
ancholy picture of the singular and fatal ravages of the vices 
with which they became contaminated, from an association 
with their civilized neighbors. Thirty years before, the Ca- 
tawbas were a terror to the Southern Colonies ; but they now 
were objects of contempt. They are reduced to about a thou- 
sand persons. The old chief was a hardy veteran. The lines 
of his face, the force of his eyes, and the expression of his 
countenance, commanded respect, and evinced powerful traits 
of mind and character.' 55 ' 

From this interesting and novel excursion, I continued my 
journey to Camden, South Carolina, along the Waxhaw set- 
tlement, passing Hanging-rock and Flat-rock. 
Hanging-rock. At the former, Genera] Sumter annihilated, by 
Flat-rock. " a " coup- de-main," the Prince of Wales's regi- 
ment, in '81. Hanging-rock is an immense 
isolated rock, about thirty feet in diameter, and lying im- 
mediately on the verge of a precipice a hundred feet in 
height; on one side it is shelving, and presents a cavity 
ample enough to contain fifty men. Flat-rock is a great 
natural curiosity, — a solid isolated rock lying upon the sur- 
face, and covering an area of two and a half 
Battlefield. acres. I here descended into a pine, sandy 

region, within a few miles of Camden ; passing 
over the ground occupied by Gates and Greene, in 1780 and 

* The following notice appeared in the papers of 1820: "General Scott, 
the venerable Chief of the Catawbas, recently died at the advanced age of 
one hundred years, after having been the ruler of the tribe for more than 
half a century." 



1786.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 297 

'81 ; and I surveyed the various positions of their conflicts. 
The former was totally and the latter partially defeated ; but 
Greene's defeats were always connected with victories, in their 
consequences. No vestiges of these sanguinary battles re- 
mained upon their theatres, except shattered trees, and the 
unburied bones of men and horses. 

At Camden, I saw the tomb, inclosed by a decent paling, 
in which reposed the ashes of the gallant Baron de Kalb and 
of several British officers. General Polk informed me, that 
he was present at the interview in which 
Greene superseded Gates. General Polk had Greene! K 

been in Gates's commissariat, and Greene oc- 
cupied with him, the whole of the first night after he assumed 
the command, in investigating the resources of the country ; 
and Genera] Polk added, that Greene, on the following morn- 
ing, better understood them, than Gates had done in the 
whole period of his command. 

Camden is situated on a plain, near the river Wateree, and 
then contained about fifty dwellings. It commanded a valu- 
able interior trade in tobacco, flour, deer-skins, 
indigo, and beef. These commodities were described, 
transported to Charleston, by a circuitous and 
expensive water-carriage, down the Santee, and round Bull's 
Island. The construction of a canal was then contemplated, 
to unite the Wateree with the head waters of the Cooper, 
which has since been accomplished, and much shortens and 
facilitates this communication. After remaining several days 
at Camden, occupied in exploring this highly interesting dis- 
trict, I returned to Hillsborough, without the occurrence of 
any important incident. 

Wearied with the monotony and tedium of an unoccupied 

life at a public hotel, I started, on a pleasant afternoon, from 

a sudden impulse, on horseback, without baggage, and with 

no settled plan, — forded the Eno, and dashed off in a south- 

13* 



298 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1786. 

era direction. At length I entered upon an open space in 
Chatham, inclosed by a forest of lofty pines. 
White^vage. -^ ere stoo( l a solitary log tavern, occupied by 
the landlady only, with several young negro 
children frolicking at the door. I was hardly seated after a 
fatiguing ride, when a gaunt, raw-boned fellow entered, 
whose appearance, voice, and manner, at once excited my 
apprehension. He was armed with a rifle and tomahawk, 
and was, in dress and aspect, a white savage. I commenced 
a movement to extricate myself. " Why in such haste?" he 
exclaimed, in a hoarse and hollow voice; "stop a little, I 
have something to say to you !" At this moment the land- 
lady appeared, evidently much agitated, and by a gesture in- 
timated that I should acquiesce. For an instant, I was de- 
termined to put him at defiance ; but the manner of the 
woman, and the consciousness that I was unarmed and wholly 
in his power, induced me to submit. I accordingly seated 
myself in a chair beside my new and strange associate, to be 
governed by circumstances. 

It was obvious, that a drinking bout was in his view. I 
hoped to use that circumstance to effect my extrication. 
Slapping him upon the shoulder, I pronounced him a hearty 
fellow, and desired the hostess to supply us with a bowl of 
whiskey toddy. We drew a little deal table between us, 
and no two topers ever sat down in apparently higher glee. 
He told obscene stories, which he compelled the landlady to 
come in and hear. I pushed the bowl to him 

Drinking scene, „ 1 , . ... - n 1 

freely ; he sang various loathsome doggerels, 
yelling in chorus with hideous peals of laughter. He called 
on me to sing. I protested that I knew only French songs ; 
but he insisted I should give one of those, and I bellowed 
forth an impromptu jargon, which I pronounced French. 
After the second bowl had been exhausted, chiefly by him- 
self, as I was cautious merely to taste of it, he became more 



1786.] O, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 299 

restless, dragged in the affrighted woman, and insisted upon 
a dance, yelling and capering about the room like a Bedlam- 
ite. Eeturning to the table, he called for more liquor ; the 
sun was about setting, and I was at a loss to conjecture when 
the disgusting scene would terminate. 

At length, to my inexpressible joy, his tongue grew thick, 
his eyes became heavy, and his head gradually sank upon the 
table. At the first snore, I slipped off to the adjoining room, 
and was soon speeding away through the intricacies of the 
forest. The hostess informed me, that he was a man of for- 
tune, had a lovely wife, owned forty negroes, and a large, 
well-stocked plantation, but spent most of his time in this 
lawless, vagabond life, and that in these moods he was ex- 
tremely quarrelsome and dangerous. 

A gentleman from Kentucky, with whom I became ac- 
quainted at Hillsborough, informed me, that the country was 
settled two hundred and fifty miles west of that 
place ; that the land was excellent, being ele- Emigration, 
vated abundantly supplied with good water, 
and that the country was salubrious. He described a station 
beyond this territory, where the emigrants concentrate and 
unite in masses, like the eastern caravans,- to traverse a wil- 
derness of one hundred and thirty miles without a dwelling, 
and extending to Crab Orchard, on the confines of the Ken- 
tucky settlements. 

On the 10th of November, I resumed my journey toward 
the low country, where the people appeared like walking 
anatomies. I travelled slowly along the northern shore of the 
Eoanoke, charmed with the country and the courteous and 
elegant hospitality of the affluent planters whom I visited. 
At the Cashie river, which enters the Roanoke near Albe- 
marle Sound, I was pained, although amused, at observing a 
device more ingenious than honest, practised by a New Eng- 
land crew, in the purchase of corn. The grain was measured 



300 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1787. 

on the quarter-deck near the centre ; and as the process com- 
menced, a fellow began to play a jig on a 
violin, and all the spare hands engaged most 
vehemently in dancing. The deck seemed remarkably elastic, 
and no doubt the per-centage of corn gained by this operation 
was very considerable. 

In April, '87, 1 purchased a plantation of six hundred and 
forty acres upon the Chowan river, with extensive buildings, 
warehouses, and other appurtenances attached. Here I spent 
the following summer, actively engaged in making improve- 
ments on the estate, in exploring the country, and in agree- 
able association with the society. 

In one of these excursions, I accompanied a prominent 
planter, at his urgent solicitation, to attend a cock-fight in 
Hampton County, Virginia, a distance of twenty miles. We 
reached the ground, about ten o'clock the next 
Cock-%ht. morning. The roads, as we approached the 

scene, were alive with carriages, horses, and 
pedestrians, black and white, hastening to the point of attrac- 
tion. Several houses formed a spacious square, in the centre 
of which was arranged a large cock-pit ; surrounded by many 
genteel people, promiscuously mingled with the vulgar and 
debased. Exceedingly beautiful cocks were produced, 
armed with long, steel-pointed gaffles, which were firmly at- 
tached to their natural spurs. The moment the birds were 
dropped, bets ran high. The little heroes appeared trained 
to the business ; and were not the least disconcerted by the 
crowd or shouting. They stepped about with great apparent 
pride and dignity ; advancing nearer and nearer, they flew 
upon each other at the same instant, with a rude shock, the 
cruel gaffles being driven into their bodies, and, at times, 
directly through their heads. Frequently one, or both, 
would be struck dead at the first blow ; but they often fought 
after being repeatedly pierced, as long as they were able to 



1788.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 301 

crawl, and in the agonies of death would often make abortive 
efforts to raise their heads and strike their antagonists. I soon 
sickened at this barbarous sport, and retired under the shade 
of a wide-spread willow, where I was much better entertained, 
in witnessing a voluntary fight between a wasp and spider. 

In viewing the crowd, I was greatly astonished to find men 
of character and intelligence giving their countenance to an 
amusement so frivolous and scandalous, so abhorrent to every 
feeling of humanity, and so injurious in its moral influence, 
by fostering habits of gambling and drinking, in the waste of 
time, and often in the issues of fighting and duelling. 

During this period of my residence in North Carolina, the 
State was strongly convulsed by the agitation of the question 
of adopting the Federal Constitution. I embarked, with great 
zeal and ardor, in advocating its adoption, per- 
sonally and by numerous contributions to the constitution 
press, in Virginia and North Carolina. A Baptist 
preacher, Mr. B., was a candidate for the State Convention, 
which was to decide, in that State, the great question of 
acceding to or rejecting the proposed Constitution. B. was a 
prominent leader of the opposition ; and I had been engaged 
with him in many warm personal discussions^ and in a public 
correspondence. 

The week previous to the election, I was riding in com- 
pany with Major Murfree, who has already been introduced 
to the reader, and with Dr. Grarvey, a warm-hearted and ener- 
getic Irishman, several miles in the interior from Winton, 
where we noticed a paper pasted against a tree, which read 
as follows : " Notice !— On Wednesday next, at three o'clock, 
all persons desirous of hearing the new Consti- 
tution explained, by Elder B— t, are requested Baptist 
to attend his church in the Woodlands, 17th a politician. 
March, 1788." The time appointed was only 
two days previous to the election. We felt indignant, at 



302 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1788. 

what we deemed an insidious attempt to deceive the commu- 
nity ; and we determined to be present, in order to counter- 
act his movement. On our arrival, we found a horse hitched 
to every tree about the church, and the interior of the build- 
ing crowded. We pressed our way to seats, a little distance 

from the pulpit. B 1 had been some time at his nefarious 

work, explaining the Constitution to suit his unhallowed pur- 
poses. He frequently cast a suspicious and disconcerted eye 
at our pew. He then began to explain the object of the ten 
miles square, as the contemplated sea.t of the Government. 
"This, my friends," said the preacher, "will be walled in or 
fortified. Here an army of fifty thousand, or, perhaps, a hun- 
dred thousand men, will be finally embodied, and will sally 
forth, and enslave the people, who will be gradually disarmed." 
This absurd assumption set our blood in fermentation, strong- 
ly excited already by party feeling. We consulted a mo- 
ment, and agreed to possess ourselves of the seat directly un- 
der the pulpit, and make an effort to discuss the subject, or 
break up the meeting. We arose together, Garvey with the 

Constitution in his hand, supported by Murfree 
Church? hlS on ^ s rig^ an( i myself on his left. Garvey 

turned towards B 1, and said, in a loud 

voice: — "Sir, as to the ten miles square, you are" — here he 
was interrupted by a general movement and buzz, which in- 
stantly swelled into a perfect uproar. At this crisis, we were 
in a most critical situation, and only saved from violence, by 
the personal popularity of Murfree, who was universally be- 
loved. We were glad to pass out with the torrent, get to our 
horses, and be off. We attained our object, however, — the 
meeting was dissolved. 

The next day, Garvey and myself planned and executed a 
caricature ; and, as it was a new exhibition among the people, 
we hoped it would have a good effect at the polls. A clergy- 
man was represented in a pulpit, dressed in his bands, with a 



1788.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson, 303 

label proceeding from his mouth, having this inscription: — 
" And lo, he brayeth!" This we committed to 
some resolute fellows, with instructions to post it Caricatured, 
up at the door of the court-house, at the opening 
of the polls ; they engaging to defend and protect it. Some 
of B t's friends, stung to the quick by the sarcasm, at- 
tempted to pull it down. Our gallant band defended it. A 
general battle ensued. This obstructed, as we desired, the 
voting. Candles were lighted in the court-house ; these were 
extinguished in the melee, and both parties, in great confu- 
sion, were left in the dark, literally as well as politically. I 

embraced the opportunity of taking French leave. B 1 

gained the election, to our great annoyance ; and the Consti- 
tution was rejected for that year, by North Carolina. 

I spent the succeeding winter, in dreary seclusion, at my 
establishment. Disappointed in the purposes I had contem- 
plated in my location, I determined to dispose of my estate. 
This I effected, and sailed early the ensuing 
spring in a vessel of my own for Ehode Island. 1^™ t0 the 
We descended the Chowan River, sailed over 
Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds, and crossed Ocrakoke bar. 
The first night, we were driven by the wind under the south 
shore of Cape Hatteras ; and we anchored at the most dan- 
gerous place on the coast of America. In ten days, we reached 
Providence, without accident. I returned, after an absence 
of more than two years, to New England, bearing with me 
features so changed and tawny, that a second time I was not 
recognized by my father, and was obliged to tell him my 
name. 

The arranged and revised Autobiography of Mr. Watson, 
closes with his return from North Carolina. His 
manuscripts, embracing his subsequent life Memoirs/ 01 * the 
and correspondence, constituting many vol- 
umes, were left in a detached and undigested condition. Orig- 



304 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1784. 

inal journals of personal incidents and tours, and notices of 
men and events, comprehending a later period of nearly half 
a century, and an immense mass of correspondence, although 
unarranged, are in a state of perfect preservation, and suscep- 
tible of being easily systematized. These, and the news- 
paper productions called forth by the numerous and diversi- 
fied projects, which he either initiated or discussed, and which 
would occupy volumes for their reproduction, and the several 
works which, during this period, he published, constitute the 
materials and elements which I propose to compress and di- 
gest, in concluding the work the author had commenced. 

Under these circumstances, I have determined to adopt 
the narrative arrangement in my compilation, intending, 
wherever practicable, to incorporate the original productions 
in their appropriate connection. I design, in the further pro- 
gress of the work, to group together notices of persons and 
incidents as they are naturally associated, rather than to be 
governed by any strict chronological order. In the anterior 
life of Mr. Watson, he had occupied an attitude of observa- 
tion ; from this period it assumed a new character, that of 
projection and execution. 

In the year 1784, Mr. Watson married Miss Eachel Smith, 
daughter of Daniel Smith, Esq., of Norton, Massachusetts. 
His Memoirs, after a marriage union of nearly 
Marriage h ° rS threescore years, record this just and touching 
tribute : — -" Never was man more blessed with 
an amiable, pious, and virtuous wife. Wherever my wander- 
ing steps have been led, by chance or caprice, she has been 
beloved by all classes. To me she has been -every thing." 

The following extract from the journal of my father, pre- 
sents a quaint and amusing account of his introduction to his 
future bride, and exhibits a curious portrait of the dress and 
habits of that period. 

" October 12th, 1784. The most eventful, and, I may add, 



1784.] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 305 

the most fortunate, day of my life, at nine o'clock, A. m., I 
mounted my horse at Providence, and started for Boston. 
My saddle-bags were dangling at his side. In Norton, Mas- 
sachusetts, my kind stars conducted me to a respectable house, 
standing on a slight elevation, a short distance from the road. 
I approached the door; and, as was customary then, cried 
out, ( House, ahoy.' A comely maiden, about seventeen 
years of age, came to the door, to answer my 
inquiries for the right road to Boston. I was, ^f^tUl 
at first sight, agreeably impressed by her mild 
and placid countenance, and the courteous manner with 
which she directed my route; little thinking, that I was 
more intently analyzing her physiognomy, than attending to 
her directions. I was not disposed to proceed, but invented 
other inquiries, to prolong the conversation. I was, at the 
time, attired in the most gaudy trappings of a French beau ; 
my hair, powdered and perfumed ; my queue, tied in a double 
knot ; a gold-headed cane, attached to a button-hole of my 
scarlet coat ; and my horse, caparisoned with an elegant sad- 
dle and bridle, which I had brought from London, and never 
"used until that eventful day. Thus equipped, I dismounted, 
at the invitation of a matronly lady, who had also come to 
the door, and who invited me into the house, after a little 
very obvious hesitation. I will not further pursue this topic ; 
but simply add, that, in a few weeks after this interview, the 
young lady became my beloved wife." 

In the August succeeding his return from North Carolina, 
Mr. Watson was called, by his affairs, to the western part of 
Massachusetts. The desire of change, and the prompting of 
his inquiring mind, impelled him onward, guided by no spe- 
cific purpose, and with no limits to his time, in the indul- 
gence of these impulses. 

On this tour, he left Providence, August the 12th, 1788 ; 
he described the country, in traversing Connecticut to Spring- 



306 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1788. 

field, as rough, but containing some small villages and pleas- 
ant localities highly improved. Springfield 
describ^d ld, contained about two hundred buildings, many 

of superior quality, and a refined society. The 
high culture and fertility of the Connecticut valley, excited 
his admiration. The roads from Springfield to Great Bar- 
rington were intolerable; passing over acclivities of moun- 
tains, and through gorges that appeared nearly inaccessible to 
carriages. The country was sparsely inhabited, by a rude 
population. Great Barrington was then a pleasant inland 
village, surrounded with rich, romantic, and mountainous 
scenery. He visited the new " City of Hudson," then first 

starting into being, through the energy and en- 
City of Hudson. ' . & n , T £ * , ° . ;' ■, 

terprise 01 JNew Jomgland emigrants, and ex- 
hibiting a progress at that period almost without a parallel in 
American history. It had emerged from a Dutch farm, into 
the position of a commercial city, with a considerable popu- 
lation, warehouses, wharves, and docks, rope- walks, shipping, 
and the din of industry. All these remarkable results had 
been accomplished, in the brief term of four years. The 
streets were broad and spacious. 

Curiosity conducted him to the " old Dutch City of Albany," 

that he might compare its habits and manners 
dM^™* with those of the cities of Holland, from whence 

their ancestors had emigrated, more than one 
hundred and fifty years before; and the other, in contact 
with savage barbarism. At that period, Albany was the 
second city in the State, containing about six hundred dwell- 
ings, generally constructed on the old Dutch model, but was 
rapidly modernizing, as well in its architecture as customs. 
The city he regarded as awkwardly situated upon the de- 
clivity of a hill. The houses were principally of brick ; and 
many of them were elegant. Yessels of eight feet plied, con- 
stantly and in great numbers, between the city and New 



1788.J Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 307 

York. The trade was immense, and rapidly increasing. A 
branch of this trade, formerly of great value, had then become 
nearly extinct ; the traffic in furs, which the British had found 
means to divert from this avenue, chiefly by the ascendency 
they derived from their forts, within our own territory. The 
inhabitants were mostly Dutch, attached to their own customs, 
and cherishing their national prejudices. As foreigners in- 
termixed with them, these peculiarities were relaxing, and 
insensibly softening. They had generally adopted, in the in- 
struction of their children, the English tongue, by the estab- 
lishment of English schools. Mr. Watson expressed, in his 
journal, the prediction, that the Dutch language, in half a 
century, would be unknown in that city as a spoken language. 

He proceeded, eight miles from Albany, to the new glass- 
house, erected by John de Neuville^ a former correspondent 
of Mr. Watson, and an inhabitant of Amsterdam. Mr. de 
Neuville was the negotiator of the treaty made by Holland 
with the American Congress, which essentially 
produced the war between the former and Eng Neuvitfe. 

land, in 1781. He commenced business, with a 
hereditary capital of half a million sterling, and lived in Am- 
sterdam and at his country-seat, in the greatest affluence and 
splendor. He sacrificed his fortune, by his attachment to the 
cause of American Independence, and in his efforts to sustain 
it. The fragments of his estate he had invested, in the hope- 
less enterprise of establishing this glass-factory. Mr. Watson 
found this gentleman, born to affluence, in a solitary seclu- 
sion, occupying a miserable log cabin, furnished with a single 
deal table and two common chairs,-— destitute of the ordinary 
comforts of life. 

Mr. Watson visited Schenectady. Here an acaderny had 
been founded, which he then regarded with in- 
terest, as an important step in advancing the 
cause of education. In subsequent years, when this feeble 



308 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1788. 

embryo had expanded into a college, lie became warmly and 
actively enlisted in the promotion of its pros- 
BESJSSl 1 P ei % and usefulness. He proceeded to John- 
son Hall, the former seat of Sir William John- 
son, then owned by Colonel Silas Talbot, an officer of great 
revolutionary distinction, whom, it will be remembered, Mr. 
Watson aided in his escape from Mill Prison in England. 
Johnson Hall was a stately mansion, occupying an eminence, 
which looked over the village of Johnstown, and a wide ex- 
panse of beautiful country. " The country," he writes, u be- 
ween Schenectady and Johnstown, was well settled by a 
Dutch population, generally in a prosperous condition; but, 
behind New England in affluence and progress. I have had 
frequent occasion to remark, from all I have observed and 
collected in my intercourse with various nations, that no other 
agricultural people are in an enjoyment of the comforts of 
life, afforded by good dwellings, and the abundance of food 
and raiment, equal to that of the farmers of New England. 
Yet, they complain of hard times. Let any of them visit 
foreign countries, and witness the destitution, the suffering 
and persecution of the agricultural class, which everywhere 
prevail, and their lips will ever after be sealed against any com- 
plaint." He learned from Colonel Talbot the occurrence of 
an Indian treaty at Fort Stanwix, and was induced, by this 
circumstance, to extend his tour to that point. 

From Johnson Hall, he proceeded up the Mohawk, through 
a rich region under high cultivation, and adorned with luxu- 
riant clover pastures. This lovely valley was almost on a 
level with the river, and was bounded on the 
north by a lofty range of hills, whose cliffs at 
times seemed impending over him. The fields were separated 
by gates only, with no fences on the road-sides. The beauty 
of the country, the majestic appearance of the adjacent moun- 
tains, the state of advanced agriculture, exhibited in a long 



1788.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 309 

succession of excellent farms, and the rich fragrancy of the air, 
redolent with the perfume of the clover, all combined to 
present a scene which he was not prepared to witness, on the 
banks of the Mohawk. 

This valley was subjected to inundations, which not un- 
frequently wasted the labors of a season, and much depre- 
ciated the apparent value of these estates. Travelling, the 
whole day, through this land flowing with milk and honey, 
he was not only surprised, but seriously distressed, at the to- 
tal absence of all accommodations for the relief and comfort 
of the traveller. 

The territory known as the Grerman-flats had long been 
inhabited, and was densely occupied by a Ger- 
man population. This people had suffered se- population, 
verely, during the war of Independence, from 
the ravages of the Tories and Indians, and had been nearly 
extirpated. Impressive vestiges of these events were exhib- 
ited throughout the entire district. Their safety was only 
secured by the erection of numerous block-houses, which 
were constructed upon commanding positions, and often 
mounted with cannon. Many of these structures were yet 
standing, and were seen in every direction. 

The sufferings and sacrifices of this population, have few 
parallels in the atrocities of civil war ! He en- 
tered into no family, in which he did not hear fXring^ 17 
thrilling recitals of the massacre of some branch 
of it, by ferocious barbarians, who carried fire and the sword 
through their settlements, or of some appalling scene of danger 
and suffering connected with its own history. This entire 
people were for many years exposed to constant alarm and 
agitation. Without any knowledge or suspicion of the im- 
mediate approach of their ruthless foes, settlements were burst 
upon and devastated at one swoop, in blood and flames, while 
the same tragic scene was often renewed the succeeding night, 



310 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1788. 

by the same bands, in some other remote and equally unsus- 
pecting community. 

On the second evening after leaving Johnson Hall, he 

reached a miserable log tavern, six miles from old Port 

Schuyler, which stood upon the site of the pres- 

SiteofUtiea. , r, % TT , . m ,. \ -. 

ent city 01 u tica. This tour proved an impor- 
tant epoch in the public career of Mr. Watson, and I there- 
fore present the original language of his Journal, in order 
more distinctly to present his views and opinions at that 
period. 

"September, 1788. — From Colonel Sterling's, I began to 
traverse the wilderness bordering upon the Indian territory. 
The road is almost impassable ; I was upwards of three hours 
in reaching the Mohawk, opposite old Fort Schuyler, a dis- 
tance of only six miles. Here I reluctantly forded the river, 
"being alone and without a guide, and both shores being alive 

with savages. Having fasted twenty -four hours, 
Privatio^' 8 ^ n consequence of a severe head-ache the day 

previous, I was by this time excessively hun- 
gry and fatigued. As there was no tavern, and there were 
only a few scattered houses, I proceeded to an old German 
log house, on the margin of the river, and implored for some- 
thing to eat. At length, after much difficulty, I prevailed 
on an ill-natured German woman, to spare me two ears of 
green corn, and some salt.* 

" The road from thence to Whitesborough continued as 
bad as possible, obstructed by broken bridges, logs, and 
stumps, — my horse, at every step, sinking knee-deep in the 
mud. I remained one day recruiting at the log house of 
Judge White, the founder of the settlement, and slept in his 

* I extract this fact from my original Journal, as illustrative of the prog- 
ress of that region. I never suffered more from hunger, in all my wander- 
ings, than I did in 1788, on the spot now occupied by the large and flourish- 
ing village of Utica. (1821.) 



1788.] < Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 311 

log barn, with horses and other animals * Whitesborough is a 
promising new settlement, situated on the south Whitesb r0UD . h 
side of the Mohawk river, in the heart of a fine 
tract of land, and is just in its transition from a state of nature 
to civilization. The settlement commenced, only three years 
since. It is astonishing to see what efforts are making, to 
subdue the dense and murky forest. Log houses are already 
scattered, in the midst of stumps, half-burnt logs, and girdled 
trees. I observed, however, with pleasure, that their log 
barns are well filled. A few years ago, land might have 
been bought for a trifle ; at present, the lots bordering upon 
the river, have advanced to three dollars per acre, and those 
lying a few miles back, to one dollar per acre. 
Settlers are continually pouring in from the 
Connecticut hive, which throws off its annual swarms of in- 
telligent, industrious, and enterprising emigrants, — the best 
qualified, of all men in the world, to overcome and civilize 
the wilderness. They already estimate three hundred brother 
Yankees on their muster list ; and, a few years hence, they 
will undoubtedly be able to raise a formidable barrier, to op- 
pose the incursions of the savages, in the event of another 
war. 

" At Oriskany, I passed a small tribe of two hundred In- 
dians, the remnant of that once powerful Mohawk nation, 



* " It could hardly have been supposed within the range of possibility, that 
it would fall to my lot, to march by the side of President Lansing, and head 
a procession of two hundred respectable farmers, in presence of several thou- 
sand spectators, into a church on this very spot, exactly thirty years after 
this occurrence, and there proclaim the premiums of an Agricultural Society, 
and address them as follows: 'It is now thirty years, this month, since I 
lodged in a log barn, belonging to Judge "White, near the spot from which I 
am now addressing you. This blooming vale was then just emerging from 
a wilderness, and the bloody footsteps of our savage foe. Behold now an 
apparently old country, bearing on its surface the refinements of civilized 
life.' " 



312 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1788. 

which was the former terror and dread of the New England 
frontier. On ascending a hill, I approached the 
Indians. place where the intrepid General Herkimer was 

drawn into a fatal ambush and miserably de- 
feated, in 1777. Herkimer was a gallant, but inexperienced 
leader, and here perished, with nearly half his army, formed 
of the patriotic yeomanry of the Mohawk valley. Just be- 
fore reaching this sanguinary battle-field, I met with two 
Germans, familiar with the incidents. They conducted me 
over the whole ground; and, in corroboration of the fact, of 
which they assured me, that many of the slain who were 
scattered through the woods were never interred, I saw 
numerous human bones, strewn upon the service of the 
earth. This movement was intended to succor Fort Stan- 
wix, then besieged by St. Leger. 

" I found myself, soon after leaving this consecrated spot, 
alone in the woods, in the midst of a band of Indians, " as 
drunk as lords" They looked like so many evil spirits, 
broken loose from Pandemonium. Wild, frantic, almost 
naked, and frightfully painted, they whooped, yelled, and 
danced round me in such hideous attitudes, that I was seri- 
ously apprehensive, they would end the farce, by taking off 
my scalp, by way of a joke. I had luckily picked up the 
word Sago, the salute of friendship, of which I made frequent 
use, constantly extending my hand to the most active among 
them, by whom it was cordially accepted. 

" On my arrival at Fort Stanwix, I saw the whole plain 
round the fort covered with Indians, of various tribes, male 
and female. Many of the latter were fantasti- 
cally dressed in their best attire, — in the richest 
silks, fine scarlet cloths, bordered with gold fringe, a profu- 
sion of brooches, rings in their noses, their ears slit, and their 
heads decorated with feathers. I noticed among them some 
very handsome countenances and fine figures. 



1788 ] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 313 

"I luckily procured a sleeping-place, in the garret of the 
house in which Governor Clinton and the eight other com- 
missioners, — also John Taylor, Esq., of Albany, Indian 
Agent, — Egbert Benson, Esq., of New York, and a man 
with a large white wig, of the name of Dr. Taylor, — were 
quartered. The sight of this wig fixed the attention, and 
excited the mirth, of many of the Indians ; one of whom I 
observed making strong efforts to smother a laugh in the 
Doctor's face, since nothing could appear more ludicrous and 
grotesque to an Indian, than a bushy white wig. The ob- 
ject of this great treaty, is to procure a cession, by the In- 
dians, of territory lying west of Fort Stanwix, 
in this State, and extending to the great lakes. 
Fort Stanwix was built in 1758, by the British Government, 
at a cost of sixty thousand pounds sterling, and is situated on 
an artificial eminence, near the river ; a large area round it is 
entirely cleared. Here Colonel Gansevoort, in 1777, sus- 
tained a terrible siege, until relieved by Arnold, when St. 
Leger made a precipitate retreat, abandoning most of his 
camp equipage and munitions. The French Ambassador, 
Count de Moustier, and the Marchioness de Biron, are now 
encamped within the Fort, under a marquee formerly used 
by Lord Cornwallis. This enterprising and courageous lady 
has exposed herself to the greatest fatigues and privations, to 
gratify her unbounded curiosity, by coming all the way from 
the city of New York, to witness this great and unusual as- 
semblage of savage tribes. 

"On contemplating the position of Fort Stanwix, at the 
head of bateau navigation on the Mohawk river, within one 
mile of Wood Creek, which runs west toward Lake Ontario, 
I am led to think, that it will in time become the emporium 
of commerce between Albany and the vast western world. 
Wood Creek is indeed small, but it is the only water com- 
munication with the great Lakes ; it empties into the Oneida 
14 



314 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1788. 

Lake, the outlet of which unites with the Onondaga and 
w od Cr k Oswego, and discharges into Lake Ontario 
inland t at Fort Oswego, where the British have a 

garrison. Should the Little Falls ever be 
locked, the obstructions in the Mohawk river be removed, 
and a canal between that river and Wood Creek at this place 
be formed, so as to unite the waters flowing east with those 
running west, and other canals be made, and obstructions be 
removed to Fort Oswego, — who can reasonably doubt, that, 
by such bold operations, the State of New York will have in 
her power, by a grand measure of policy, to divert the future 
trade of Lake Ontario, and the great lakes above, from Alex- 
andria and Quebec to Albany and New York ? 

" The object of the present treaty, is the purchase of an im- 
mense territory, estimated at eight millions of acres, and now 

owned, and* chiefly inhabited, by the Six Na- 
Territory ceded, tions of Indians. The sovereignty of this tract 

has been in dispute, between Massachusetts 
and New York. These States have at length made an ami- 
cable division, assigning four millions of acres to each. The 
former has since sold her right of domain to a company of 
adventurers, who have purchased preemption from the In- 
dians. New York has, by this treaty, accomplished the same 
result. This vast territory, therefore, is now opened, without 
any impediments, to the flood of emigration which will pour 
into it from the East. Many hardy pioneers have already 
planted themselves among the savages ; and it is probable, 
that the enthusiasm for the occupation of new territory, 
which now prevails, will, in the period of the next twenty 
years, spread over this fertile region a prosperous and vigor- 
ous population. 

" I left Fort Stanwix, with the intention of passing down 
Wood Creek to Lake Ontario, indulging the idea of extend- 
ing my tour to Detroit. Under the strong presentiment, that 



1788.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 315 

a canal communication will be opened, sooner or later, between 
the great lakes and the Hudson, I was anxious to 
explore its probable course. A hard rain com- Negation, 
mencing, and the obstacles I found to exist in 
the creek, induced me to abandon the arduous enterprize, and 
return to Fort Stanwix. The attempt afforded me the grati- 
fication of sailing west, for the first time, in the interior of 
America. 

"I continued several days at the Treaty, passing my time 
most agreeably, in associating with the Commissioners ; and, 
I was much diverted with the novel and amusing scenes ex- 
hibited in the Indian camp. The plain in the vicinity of the 
fort, has already been laid out into a town-plot ; a few houses 
have been erected, and also saw-mills, and other improve- 
ments, at the distance of a mile on Wood Creek. 

"A young Indian, named Peter Otsequett, a Chief of the 
Oneidas, was attending this Treaty. He had 
just returned from France, having been in that 
country for several years, under the patronage of the Mar- 
quis de La Fayette, by whom he was taken when a boy. He 
is probably the most polished and best educated Indian in 
North America. He speaks both French and English, cor- 
rectly ; is familiar with music and many branches of polite 
and elegant literature ; and, in his manners, is a well-bred 
Frenchman. He is, however, a striking instance of the moral 
impracticability of civilizing an Indian. There appear to 
exist natural impediments to their amelioration. While visit- 
ing the Catawba Indians, a year since, I became acquainted 
with a young Indian, who had been educated at a prominent 
college ; but had already fallen into the degradation of his 
native savage habits, and was to all intents an Indian. It is 
noticed that each year, in its progress, wears off the European 
polish of Otsequett, and brings him nearer to the savage.* 

* I have since been assured, by a gentleman who knew Otsequett near the 



316 Men and Times of the Revolution] [1788. 

Ten days ago, I was introduced to him, a polite and well-in- 
formed gentleman ; to-day, I beheld him splashing through 
the mud, in the rain, on horseback, with a young squaw 
behind him, both comfortably drunk. 

" My curiosity satisfied, I sent my horse toward Albany, 
and embarked on board of a returning bateau, and proceeded 
down the Mohawk to Little Falls, anxious to 
Mohawk^ the examine that place, with an eye to canals. 
We abandoned ourselves to the current of the 
river, which, with the aid of our oars, impelled us at a rapid 
rate. We met numerous bateaux coming up the river, freighted 
with whole families, emigrating to the % land of promise.' I 
was surprised at the dexterity with which they manage their 
boats, and the progress they make in poling up the river, 
against a current of at least three miles an hour. The first 
night, we encamped at a log hut on the banks of the river ; 
and, the next morning, I disembarked at German Flats. 

" The meanderings of the river, according to my estimate, 
about doubles the distance in a direct line. We passed a 
valuable tract of sixteen thousand acres of land, situated on 
the north side of the river, which has been granted by the 
State to Baron Steuben. From Schenectady, I pursued the 
road across a thickly settled country, embracing many fine 
farms, to Ashley's Ferry, six miles above Albany. On the 
east side of the river, at this point, a new town 
New^orkT' ^as ^ een recent ly laid out, named Vanderhey- 
den.* This place is situated precisely at the 
head of navigation on the Hudson. Several bold and en- 
close of his life, that he actually degenerated below the ordinary level of 
savages. His refined education in France, commencing when a boy, had 
divested him of those masculine virtues which are engrafted on the Indian 
character. Having lost these, he possessed no high qualities to sustain him, 
and, abandoning himself to the bottle,he ultimately became vagabond. (1821.) 
* The original name of the present beautiful city of Troy. 



1788.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 317 

terprising adventurers have already settled here ; a num- 
ber of capacious warehouses, and several dwellings, are al- 
ready erected. It is favorably situated, in reference to the 
important and growing trade of Vermont and 
Massachusetts ; and, I think, it not only bids 
fair to be a serious thorn in the side of New City,* but in 
the , issue a fatal rival. 

" I spent a day in examining this locality, and then walked 
on the banks of the Hudson, a distance of three miles, to New 
City, where I continued several days. This place is thronged 
with mercantile emigrants, principally from New England, 
who have enjoyed a very extensive and lucrative trade, sup- 
plying Vermont and the region on both banks of the Hud- 
son, as far as Lake Greorge, with merchandise ; and receiving, 
in payment, wheat, pot and pearl ashes, and lumber. But, as 
I remarked, I think Vanderheyden must, from its more eligible 
position, attain the ultimate ascendency. 

" I crossed the river at Half-Moon, a small hamlet contain- 
ing about twenty dwellings; and, about a mile from this 
place, I visited the Cohoes Falls, on the Mo- 
hawk Eiver. Nothing so much charms and cohoes°Faiis. 
elevates my mind, as the contemplation of na- 
ture in her bold and majestic works. Fixing my position on 
the margin of the bank, which descends in an abrupt precipice 
of about seventy feet, I beheld the volume of the Mohawk, 
plunging over a fall of about the same height, and nearly 
perpendicular. The barrier of rocks, — the lofty banks, — the 
roaring and dashing of the waters, — and the cloud of mist, 
presented a spectacle of surprising sublimity. The river di- 
vides, immediately below the Falls, into three branches, and 
empties into the Hudson, nearly opposite New City. The 
bed of the stream is filled with rocks, among which it rushes 
and surges in terrific impetuosity. 

* The city of Lansingburg was then known by that name. 



318 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1788. 

" As to ascending by locks from the Hudson to the Mo- 
hawk Kiver, it appears to me, that the obstacles at this place 
will be much greater, than to cut a canal across the pine 
plains, into a grand basin, back of Albany. I took passage, 
in a bateau at New City, to Albany, for the purpose of sound- 
ing the river. The result of my examination 
Albany! ElV6r * satisfied me, that, in ordinary tides, five or six 
feet may be carried to within a mile of New 
City, and from thence to that town fifteen to eighteen inches. 
The tides sensibly rise and fall, as far up as Vanderheyden. 
Upon careful investigation and mature reflection, it appears 
to my mind, that Albany is one of the most favorable posi- 
tions in America for the future enjoyment of a vast internal 
commerce. It is favorably situated, in reference to the trade 
of Vermont and the extensive eastern country. It may con- 
trol the fur trade of the lakes ; it must occupy the avenues 
which penetrate into the valley of the Mohawk ; and it will 
be the depot of the produce from the luxuriant territory of 
the Genesee." 

From Albany, Mr. Watson proceeded to New York, by a 
packet, and occupied three days in the passage. He speaks 
The Overslaugh, of the Overslaugh, three miles below Albany, 
Albany. as SO unding only eight feet of water, while 
immediately below it deepens to twelve or fourteen feet; 
and, he suggests, that the impediment might be removed, 
by closing two channels, and throwing the whole current 
of the river into the third. This obstacle being removed, 
he expresses the opinion, that Albany would become a 
mart of foreign commerce. The beautiful and richly culti- 
vated banks of the Hudson, the thriving villages that adorned 
its shores, the majestic passage of the Highlands, the impos- 
ing scenery they presented, the stupendous works at West 
Point, exceeding in number, strength, and position, any thing 
he had before seen, excited his warmest enthusiasm and his 



1788.] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 319 

admiration. His opinion of that noble river had been ex- 
alted ; but he remarks, that he had formed most inadequate 
conceptions of its many beauties, and of its immense import- 
ance not only to the State, but to the entire Union. 

" The following curious romance in real life," Mr. Watson 
remarks in his journal, " which came to my knowledge 
about this time, was familiar to me in its gen- 
eral features, and I knew intimately the promi- Romance in 
nent actors in it.* About the year 1780, while Rich Usurer. 
I was in France, my father removed from 

Plymouth to a farm, on river. On the opposite side, 

and about two miles above them, was a pretty village, prin- 
cipally inhabited by rich half-Quakers. Among them lived 

Mr. , distinguished as one of the richest men in New 

England. He was originally a ship carpenter ; but, possess- 
ing an active and vigorous mind, in reference to men and 
money-making, he had, by a long course of usury, and tak- 
ing and exacting the forfeiture of mortgages upon many of 
the best farms in that region, and having also several ships in 
foreign trade, accumulated an immense fortune. His indus- 
try and efforts were unremitted ; and, in the pursuit of his 
great object, he had drawn tears of blood from many an eye, 
— and heart too. He was a raw-boned, powerful, and athletic 
man, possessed of iron nerves, but not a drop of the milk of 
human kindness flowed in his cold and fish-like veins. His 
great wealth procured him in marriage a very fine, lady-like 
wife, with a cash fortune of forty thousand pounds. This 
man was regarded as the scourge of the community, but still 



* Mr. Watson, in his manuscripts from which this episode is transcribed, 
gives the names and localities of this story, with an injunction that it should 
not be disclosed until the lapse of a specified period, which has now ex- 
pired. In the suppression of the names of persons and places, I may, I 
think, exhibit the moral the tale inculcates, without doing violence to the 
feelings of any descendants of the parties, if they still survive. — Editor. 



320 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1788. 

lie had some good qualities, and always exercised a generous 
hospitality under his own roof. 

" He had two sons. John, the elder of them, was a sheer 

clown, the counterpart of his father in form, but of liberal 

and kindly feelings, with however a propensity 

His son John. / J?' , .. -. j -u • 

to gambling. His education had been miser- 
able ; and, in mind and appearance, he could scarcely claim 
superiority to the most indigent stripling of his age. For 
this the father, whose god was money, had much to answer. 
u At the close of the Eevolutionary war, a vessel of his 
arrived from Jamaica, laden with rum. He dispatched her 
to Boston, and sent his son over -land to sell the cargo, as his 
introduction upon the commercial stage. But 
^Eumf "kke cargo and son both disappeared, and no 

trace was discovered of him until some years 
afterward, I think in 1789. It subsequently appeared, that 
John fell into the hands of some sharpers at Boston, who 
soon relieved him of the avails of the cargo of rum. John, 
from his infancy, dreading his father, instantly fled into the 
interior in secresy, and directed his course to the Ohio river ; 
and thence, in order to elude all traces of him, 
fh^indians^ he proceeded into the midst of the Miami In- 
dians, where he married a young squaw, and 
had by her two or three children. 

" Some years after, becoming disgusted with savage life, he 
left his wife and children, returned to the Ohio, and followed 
the river as a boatman. In the winter of that year, he became 
a common laborer in the streets of New Orleans. While en- 
gaged one day in sawing wood, at the door of 
iood-s a a wer. a Spaniard, John saw a Major D., a gentleman 
from New England, whom he well knew, pass- 
ing by, and he accosted him by name. Major D. turned, and 
saw this miserable object in filth and rags. "Did you speak 
to me, my lad ?" " Yes, Sir, — don't you know me ?" " Know 



1788.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 321 

you ! how should I ? who are you ? "I have seen you often 

at my father's, in ," replied John. " Who is your father ?" 

"Mr. , Sir." "You are an impostor!" rejoined Major 

D., " it can't be so." John, however, did not lose sight of 
D., but, shouldering his saw, followed him to his quarters, 
and stated some facts which began to stagger the incredulity 
of D. John narrated his story, after his departure from his 
father's house. Yet D. was skeptical ; but, as John pressed 
him very earnestly, to take him to Philadelphia in any capa- 
city, assured him that on his arrival there he would convince 
him that he was no impostor, Major D. agreed to procure him 
an opportunity to work his passage to that city. To this 
John assented. On their arrival at Philadelphia, Major D. 
was astonished to find, that John was recognized by his 
father's correspondents, Messrs. H. and A., and that they were 
apprized of the rum adventure. They stated, that the father 
had been, for several years, in deep despondency, under the 
conviction that his son had in all probability committed sui- 
cide, to escape his harsh severity. 

"Mr. A. took John into the bosom of his own family, 
clothed him, and fed him. But this sudden transition from 
abject want to abundance, was too much for John, and sub- 
jected him to a severe sickness. As soon as he was con- 
valescent, Mr. A. wrote, as he afterward informed me, to the 
father. It so happened, that I was passing down Crane's 
wharf, and met him, just landed, on his way to 
Philadelphia to meet John; but, as I had just John's _ 

1 7 . i -I -i /» i restoration 

left John in Hacker Tavern, at the head of the to his father, 
wharf, where he had arrived the evening before, 
I had the singular good fortune to conduct the agitated father 
into the presence of his returning prodigal son. With the 
exception of the meeting of my uncle Winslow and his son 
Ned, ten or twelve years previous, I have never witnessed a 
more affecting scene. They clung to each other in a most 



322 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1788. 

awkward manner, but in speechless emotion, for several 
minutes. There was a refinement of heart and sentiment in 
the Winslow group on Prudence Island, which had no paral- 
lel on this occasion. 

" This story, in all its circumstances, was considered unpre- 
cedented in New England. But to add another, and deeper 
incident to the drama: the whole country, in the ensuing 
September, resounded with the news that John's abandoned 
wife, accompanied by her brother, a Miami Indian, and two 

papooses, had arrived at . Money works wonders : — 

they disappeared in a twinkling. John afterwards married 
one of the most beautiful and accomplished women in Ehode 
Island. As if Heaven, in wrath, had destined him to 
squander a fortune wrung from the anguish of hundreds, — 
by deaths in the family and the will of his father, the 
largest portion of this vast estate fell into the hands of John. 
It melted away, in a manner incomprehensible. 
John's wealth, In ten years, he was a bankrupt, in penury, 
cieaLh? ' <m and in the most grinding want ever afterward. 

He subsequently went, as I have understood, 
in the capacity of a common sailor, to the coast of Africa, 
and there died. More than one impressive moral may be 
drawn from this story, which rests upon incontestible facts, 
and is known to hundreds, remnants of the last generation, 
yet living." 

The journal of Mr. Watson narrates an occurrence, of an 
exciting character, in which he was apparently exposed to 
a tragic and most appalling fate. 

"I spent one month in the city of New York, after my re- 
turn from the Treaty at Fort Stanwix ; arrived at Newport, 
on the 3d of December, 1788, after a furious passage of six- 
teen hours from New York ; and resumed my old quarters 
at the residence of Mr. H., who kept a boarding-house in a 
building which belonged to Colonel Malborn. 



1788.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 323 

" This H. had been a British officer, and his father was, as 
he alleged, a former governor of the Island of Guernsey. 
H. sold his commission, at the close of the war, ox 

e mX. * ■ t , ^ -, Story of Mr. H. 

for the purpose of marrying a celebrated cour- 
tesan connected with the army, with whom he had fallen in 
love. Although once depraved, she possessed many excel- 
lent qualities, and was humane and generous, 
as many American prisoners abundantly testi- His wife, a 

y reformed 

fied. Her person was elegant, and her feelings Courtesan, 

benevolent, and at this period she was not only 
reformed, but pious. H. was a man of vicious habits ; and 
yet, most of the respectable Southern travellers resorted to his 
fashionable establishment, in their summer so- 
journ. These I found, on my arrival, had all hotis?™^" 
migrated with the birds, in pursuit of a milder 
climate, on the approach of cold weather ; and not a solitary 
boarder remained to keep me company. Here I continued, 
two weeks. The first Sunday, after breakfast, H. invited me 
to walk out with him. I at first declined, but was prevailed 
upon by his urgency. He promised to show me 
a great natural curiosity. We proceeded across a Se Author to 
plain, about two miles in a south-east course, S^Hr , 

ii • -1 Devil's Hole. 

where he conducted me to the brink of an ab- 
rupt precipice, with rock piled on rock at its base at least 
fifty feet below. The hideous and chaotic confusion of 
these masses, which had evidently been rent from the struc- 
ture by some convulsion of nature, had given to the spot 
the name of Purgatory, or the Devil's Hole. The orig- 
inal formation of the coast had manifestly been indented, as 
if the whole wall had been scooped out, and the fragments 
dashed in utter dislocation at the foot of the abyss, in con- 
fused heaps, their sharp points projecting in every direction. 
fl To view this work of nature, persons approach with great 
caution to the verge of the precipice. The fragments of rock 



82-i Men and Times of the Revolution; [1788. 

at the bottom, were so pointed, as to cause the instant 
death of any living creature, precipitated from the summit of 
the cliff. Their base is overflowed at flood, and left naked 
at ebb tide. It was low water, when H. allured me to the 
place . In this position, leaning upon my cane at the edge 
of the precipice, I contemplated with surprise and interest 
two large rocks, once evidently united, but now separated 
into two parts, and lying some distance asunder. In the face 
of the wall, millions of swallows made their secure nests in 
the interstices of the rocks. This circumstance gave a pecu- 
liar relief and animation to the dreary scene. 

" After a while, I became satisfied with gazing on the won- 
derful exhibition, and withdrew ; but H. urged me, with 
great importunity, to return to the brink a second time. 
Although without suspicion, I resisted his solicitations, and 
proceeded homeward. I dined, and went to my chamber. 
I there found my trunk, which contained a bag 
He steals the f gold and silver that was just then of infinite 

Author's bag 

of money. importance to me, unlocked. I felt for the bag 

with much apprehension, — but it was gone. 
The conviction flashed upon my mind, that H. had cherished 
a diabolical purpose, in alluring me with so much solicitude 
to that sequestered spot. I at once reverted to his strange and 
excited conduct on the cliff, which I had noticed without 
heeding. My suspicions were immediately fastened upon him, 
as the author of the robbery ; but I first summoned his wife, 
who came as usual, cheerfully and frankly. I explained my 
disaster, when she became ghostly pale and clasped her hands 
in agony, protesting her own innocence, but added, "I can- 
not answer for BL, although I have no cause of suspicion." 
" Sit still," I said, " and be silent." I then proceeded to the 
head of the stairs, and called H., several times. He at length, 
in a faltering voice, answered, and came forward with hesita- 
tion and manifest reluctance. When he reached the spot 



1788.] O, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 325 

where I stood, his countenance exhibited the clearest evidence 
of guilt. As he approached, I seized him by the arm, and 
looking sternly and fixedly in his eye, " Why do you tremble, 
H. ? what is the matter?" "What do you want?" he in- 
quired. "I am robbed," I exclaimed, "in your house, and 
you are the robber, and in heart a murderer." He vehement- 
ly asserted his innocence. I had him committed, however, 
but allowed him subsequently to be discharged. 
A few days after, the bag was deposited, with He is arrest ? d - 

, ,, , ° r 7 The money is 

nearly all the money, at my room door. I caused returned. 
H. to be again arrested. He soon desired an 
interview with me, in the presence of the sheriff. I went to 
his cell, and found him fearfully agitated. His whole frame 
shook, as if in an ague fit. 

" He said, that he desired to unburden his conscience to us. 
I then promised to proceed no further against him. He fell 
upon his knees, confessed his guilt of the robbery, and fer- 
vently implored the forgiveness of God. " Tell 
me," I exclaimed solemnly, "in the presence of ftheftj and° n 
that God, why you took me to that precipice?" of intended 

_^^ > j j 11 murder. 

" With the intent," he feebly replied, " of mur- 
dering you." After some further conversation, he confessed, 
that he once extended his hand to within a few inches of my 
back, whilst I was resting on my cane and gazing over the 
chasm, and purposed to hurl me into the abyss below, — that 
his heart failed him at the moment ; but, if I had returned 
the second time, it was his fixed determination to accomplish 
his purpose, hoping, by my destruction, to escape a detection 
of the robbery. 

"He was released; his wife separated from him; and, in 
twenty -four hours, he fled from Newport for- 
ever. I met him, fourteen years afterward, in a vagabond™ 6168 * 
narrow retired street in Boston. I accosted him, 
and he instantly recognized me. He was greatly agitated and 



326 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1789. 

alarmed, and said, that for many years he had been a wan- 
dering, homeless vagabond in Nova Scotia, perpetually 
haunted by the thought, that the guilt of my intended 
murder rested upon his soul." 

In the ensuing year, 1789, Mr. Watson removed from 
Providence to Albany. Among the curiosities in his com- 
mon-place book, I find a singular document, which I deem 
worthy of being perpetuated. It affords evidence, that our 
country at that epoch was not wholly enfran- 
The Author's chised from the influence of European usages, 

Certificate of . . r . ° J 

the Freedom but that many restrictions and exactions still 
Albany. lty ° lingered. I refer to a certificate of the freedom 
of the city, which it seems each emigrant was 
required to possess, to be secured in the enjoyment and pro- 
tection of his municipal rights. The following is a copy of 
the printed document : 

"Know all men by these presents, that I, John Lan- 
sing, Jr., Esquire, Mayor of the city of Albany, have 
admitted and received, and do hereby admit and re- 
ceive, Elkakah Watson, to be a freeman of said city. 
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and 
caused the seal of the said city to be hereunto an- 
nexed, the 28th day of May, 1799," etc. 

" For this certificate," Mr. Watson adds, " I was compelled 
to pay five pounds." This abuse was early and vigorously as- 
sailed by him, through the press, and was soon after abolished. 

I am now approaching an epoch in the life of my father, 
which to myself is surrounded with embarrassment and dif- 
ficulties. At this period commenced his efforts and labors, 
in projecting or advocating various subjects of local and gen- 
eral improvements of the most diversified character and ob- 



i79 -] Or ', Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 32 



i-r 



jects, and which were continued to the close of his life. The 
silence which delicacy might prescribe to a son, it appears to 
me, should yield to the paramount obligations imposed by 
the relation of the biographer and historian. 

The circumstance, that these efforts gave existence to and 
are connected with much of the valuable correspondence of 
distinguished men, which I design to introduce, appears to 
render the propriety of the course I intend to adopt still more 
obvious. I propose to record the facts connected with these 
subjects, where I esteem them of public interest, or calculated 
to elucidate the progress and history of the country, without 
comment or eulogium, and with only such remarks as may 
be necessary to explain or illustrate them. 

At the time of Mr. Watson's settlement in Albany, not 
more than live New England families were residents of that 
city. It was without any foreign commerce ; the city was un- 
improved. State street, now one of the most spacious and 
beautiful avenues in America, was then not 
only without pavements and ungraded, but jnlSbany. entS 
was even broken and in some parts precipi- 
tous. The streets were without lamps. A singular deform- 
ity and inconvenience prevailed in some sections of the city. 
A custom had been introduced, which existed in the provin- 
cial towns of Holland, of discharging the water, from the 
roofs of smaller buildings, by long spouts. In Holland, the 
spouts projected over the canals; but, by the adoption of 
this practice in Albany, the water was poured upon the head 
of the unwary passenger. The mind of Mr. Watson, familiar 
with the elegancies and advancement of European cities, at 
once saw and appreciated the various defective arrangements 
in the city of his adoption ; and, soon after his becoming a 
resident, he engaged earnestly, through the press and by per- 
sonal efforts, in suggesting and urging various local improve- 
ments connected with these subjects. 



328 Men and Times of the Revolution; [179°- 

His exertions, in connection with the labors of others, gen- 
erally secured their adoption ; but, as they necessarily entailed 
inconvenience and expense, the schemes excited strong hos- 
tility, in the feelings of those who were opposed to all inno- 
vating projects. In subsequent years, he received many 
generous tributes of acknowledgments and thanks from those 
who had opposed these efforts, in their progress. His Jour- 
nal contains a notice of an amusing incident, which exhibits 
the state of feeling which he had excited : 

" Just after State street had been paved at a heavy expense, 
I sauntered into it, immediately after a heavy thunder-storm, 
and whilst regretting the disturbance in the sidewalk, and ob- 
serving the cellars filled with water, (for in that section, which 
was near the present locality of the State Bank, the street in 
grading had been elevated some feet,) I heard two women, in 
the act of clearing their invaded premises from the accumu- 
lation of mud and water, cry out, — -' Here comes 
aSaiitdas the ^at infernal paving Yankee !' They approached 
"Paving me i n a menacing attitude, — broomsticks erect. 

Prudence dictated a retreat, to avoid being 
broomsticked by the infuriated Amazon s, although I did not 
run, as some of my friends insisted, but walked off at a quick 
pace." 

The common-place book, in which are preserved copies of 
his publications on these and kindred subjects of local and 
general improvement, attests the zeal and ardor, as well as the 
extent and industry, of his labors. Among these projects, 
the charter of the Bank of Albany, the first banking institu- 
tion incorporated north of New York, was agi- 
tated ; and I have before me the declaration of 
eminent men of that period, who ascribed to his efforts its 
successful accomplishment. 

Whilst visiting Philadelphia, in 1792, in the service of that 
Institution, Mr. Watson spent part of a forenoon, in seeking 



1792.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 329 

the sequestered- grave of Franklin, always deriving, lie re- 
marked, a peculiar gratification, from contem- 
plating even the sods that cover the ashes of franklin, 
great men. His last interview with Franklin, 
who was then eighty years of age, had occurred in 1786. 
" On my first entering the room," Mr. Watson says, "he ob- 
served, that all his old friends were dead, and he found him- 
self alone, in the midst of a new generation ; and he added 
the remark, alike characteristic of the man and the philoso- 
pher, ' he was in their way, and it was time he was off the 
stage.' Yet he delighted a circle of young people, the whole 
evening, with pleasing anecdotes and interesting stories ; for, 
in his old age, he was a most instructive companion of youth. 
His voice was very sonorous and clear, but at the same time 
hollow and peculiar." 

" Franklin was the first and greatest of American phil- 
osophers, — a brilliant star in the galaxy of 
America's best benefactors, — a child of nature, Z r{hl i\ e . t0 

destitute of early literary acquirements, yet oc- 
cupying a lofty position among the most distinguished literary 
men of his age. His own history will most adequately illus- 
trate his useful career, in a long life devoted to the promotion 
of the happiness of his fellow-men, and by his last will dis- 
pensing his beneficence centuries after his decease. Franklin 
was not averse to popular applause ; he loved fame, — not the 
blast of surreptitious honors; but that renown which was 
based on one's own great deeds. 

"A great estrangement existed between Dr. Franklin and 
Mr. Adams, which it was painful to observe in 
personages so worthy and so distinguished. It Estrangement 
resulted, partly, from personal occurrences, and FratknT aDd 
to some extent from incidents connected with 
the treaty of '83. Too much subserviency to the views and 
interests of the French Government was by many imputed 



330 Men and Times of the Revolution. [1792. 

to Dr. Franklin, in relation to the fisheries, and our western 
boundary. The stern and successful opposition of Mr. Adams 
and Mr. Jay, on .these points, rendered them personally un- 
popular at the French Court, while Franklin was caressed, 
and maintained his great influence at Versailles to the close 
of his mission. Mr. Jay presented a generous, and I think 
triumphant, vindication of the purity of the intentions and 
the integrity of Franklin. 




Shaker Dance. Page 333. 



CHAPTEE XII 



Duking- the year 1790, Mr. Watson published a small 
volume, entitled, "A Tour in Holland, by an American." 
In those days, an American seldom travelled in 
Europe; and it was still more rare, to see a The Author's 
work issued from our domestic press, which HoJUnd." 
embodied the results of his observations and re- 
flections in foreign lands. I judge from the contemporaneous 
evidence afforded by the letters of eminent literary men, and 
the notices of the press, that this volume excited much atten- 
tion, and was received with high commendation. 

In August, 1790, Mr. Watson visited New Jhllert?** 011 ' 
Lebanon Springs, and " was compelled to make 
the journey from Albany, in a Shaker wagon, there being 



332 Men and Times of the Revolution; [179°- 

no regular conveyance to that place." These waters he 
found, in taste and temperature, precisely similar to those 
of Matlock, in England. He attended the worship of the 
Shakers; and he gives the following description of that 
peculiar people : 

" On Sunday, proceeded to the Shaker village, about three 
miles from the Springs, to witness their singular ' 
de.s^ribed! llage, devotions. The village rests upon the western 
slope of a mountain. It is built on one wide 
street, the houses neat and scattering, and all painted a dull 
yellow. In the rear, extensive orchards spread along the 
hill-side. The church is painted a pure milk white, one story 
high, and neat and simple in its style. The men advanced 
to the church in procession, in Indian file ; all entered at the 
same door, and took their seats on the right side of the build- 
ing. The women entered at another door, and occupied seats 
on the left side of the house; they wore uniform, simple 
dresses, with tight caps. There were about sixty of each sex. 
The spectators were arranged on benches 
Worship. against the wall, facing an open area appro- 

priated to the dancing. At the word, the 
Shakers formed into solid masses, of a triangular form ; the 
brethren in one column, and the sisters in another. One of 
the elders, then advancing to the front, addressed first the 
spectators, soliciting silence and decorum ; — and then the fra- 
ternity, exhorting them to keep in their own path, exhibiting 
the outer world as lost, asserting, that Shakers are in the 
straight and narrow way which leads to life eternal. He was 
grossly ignorant, and had a hoarse and unpleasant voice, but 
spoke with much animation. 

"They all preserved a steadfast gaze upon the floor, with 
their hands clenched, while every moment some individual 
would give a convulsive shake, that agitated the whole frame. 
My curiosity was greatly excited, and I closely watched every 



179°-] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 333 

occurrence. The discourse finished, the elder ordered them 
1 to prepare to labor, in the name of the Lord.' At once, 
they broke their ranks ; the men stripped off their coats, and 
the women divested themselves of all superfluous articles of 
dress. They then re-formed in the same order, with the celer- 
ity and exactness of a military column. 

" The day was hot. Two or three elders commenced a 
strange cadence, in hollow guttural voices, rendered into a 
sort of dancing tune. The whole mass, — men, women, and 
children, old and young, black and white, be- 
gan to dance or rather move most awkwardly, a er aneing ' 
raising their right knee high up, and dropping on the balls 
of their feet, the left foot performing a short up and down 
motion ; all advancing and retiring three or four steps, and 
at every turn of the tune, whirling round with three steps. 
It seemed to me very like the movement of boys at school, in 
former days, when punished by stepping the bare feet upon a 
hot stove. Among the women were some tall oaks, some 
shrivelled dwarfs, and some young saplings. Their white 
capped heads of various heights, bobbing up and down in the 
mazes of the dance, had a queer and ridiculous appearance. 
Although friendly to religious toleration in its widest latitude, 
I was disgusted, and sickened at the heart, in contemplating 
the revolting scene. My aversion was excited, on seeing the 
dignity of man thus debased, and his destiny perverted by 
this strange fanaticism. I was distressed by this solemn 
mockery, but felt no disposition to laugh or sneer." 

" In subsequent years, an intimate intercourse with this 
brotherhood, formed by a residence in their vicinity, gave 
me a full knowledge of their character. I found them gen- 
erally sincere in their profession, strictly moral, 
industrious as a hive of bees, and rigidly ad- Se a ™hakers f 
hering to their tenets. The directors exercise 
despotic power, and the rest labor in silence and submission, 



334 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1790- 

accumulating the common stock. They carry on many in- 
genious manufactures." 

" The succeeding September, I made a tour to the mineral 
springs at Saratoga. Here I spent a day, bathing in a trough, 

and drinking the exhilarating water, which 
Spring^? gushes from the centre of a rock. I met with 

about a dozen respectable people, sojourning at 
a wretched tavern. The wildness of the region, and the ex- 
cessively bad accommodation, made me recur to the condi- 
tion of Bath, in the barbarous ages, when, several centuries 
before Christ, as the legend says, the springs were discovered 
by their salutary effect upon a herd of distempered swine 
wallowing in the mud. 

" The Saratoga waters were discovered, about twenty years 
ago, as I was informed by Mr. Ball of Ballston, in following 
a deer track ; but, it is supposed, their existence was known to 
the Indians. The remarkable medicinal qualities of these 
springs, and their accessible position, must render this spot, 
at some future period, the Bath of America. At present, it 

is enveloped in rudeness and seclusion, with no 
Want of m accommodations appropriate to civilized man. 
In 1790. ' The rock through which the water issues by a 

narrow passage, has been probably formed by 
petrifaction. Vessels are let down, through this fissure or 
natural well, to procure the water for drinking. 

" There is no convenience for bathing, except an open log 
hut, with a large trough, similar to those in use for feeding 

swine, which receives water from a spring. 

s!?Sto|L at Int0 this y° u ro11 from a bench. This water 

appears to be strongly impregnated with sal- 
ine ingredients, highly charged with fixed air, and is al- 
most as animated as champagne wine. Its taste is grateful, 
but it leaves an unpleasant impression upon the palate. 
Those accustomed to it, however, regard it as a great luxury. 



I79 1 -] Or, Memoirs of ETkanah Watson. 335 

I It is in high estimation, as a specific in all scorbutic affections, 
gout, rheumatism, etc. These springs are situated in a marsh, 
partially encompassed by slight and pretty eminences, along 
the margin of which the road winds. A little off from the 
highway, I visited a new spring, which is much more highly 
charged with mineral elements. This is called the Congress 
Spring. 

" From Saratoga I proceeded to Tryon's, a low one-story 
tavern on a hill in Ballston. At the foot of this hill, I found 
an old barrel with the staves open, stuck into 
the mud in the midst of a quagmire, surrounded ]^*™ in 1790 
with trees, stumps, and logs. This was the 
Ballston Spring. I observed two or three ladies, walking 
along a fallen tree, so as to reach the fountain ; and I was 
disgusted at seeing as many men washing their loathsome 
sores near the barrel. There was also a shower bath, with 
no protection except a bower of bushes. Tryon's was the 
only public house, no buildings having been erected below 
the hill. The greatest number of visitors at one period, the 
past summer, was ten or twelve, and these were as many as 
could be accommodated." 

In the year 1791, Mr. Watson accompanied the Honorable 
Jeremiah Yan Eensselaer, General Philip Yan Cortlandt, and 
Stephen N. Bayard, Esq., in an extensive tour through the 
interior of New- York. I have preserved, with 

Western Tour. 

more than ordinary minuteness, the incidents 

and observations recorded in his daily journal by Mr. Watson 

in the course of his journey. A description of that territory, 

its aspect and condition at this early period of its occupation, 

I narrated amid the sequestered scenes to which the travellers 

had penetrated with so much labor and difficulty, must pos- 

f sess deep interest to every reflecting mind, and throw much 

- light on the researches of the political philosopher and the 

future historian. 



336 Men and Times of the Revolution; [ J 79 I - 

The traveller, who may now in a moment communicate 
with the most distant cities of the Atlantic States, and who 
upon the wings of steam rushes through this matured and 
affluent territory, and views magnificent cities, princely seats, 
and a dense population, — when he reads the following de- 
scription of the suspended intercourse of Mr. Watson and his 
companions, with their families, — their slow and laborious 
progress, — their sleeping amid these scenes from dire neces- 
sity, with no covering but the boughs of trees and the can- 
opy of Heaven, — of the solitary cabin of the pioneer, — the 
wigwam of the Indian, — and of villages composed only of 
log huts, will with difficulty receive it as a portraiture of the 
same delightful region. 

Mr. Van Rensselaer and Mr. Watson left Albany on the 
first day of September, 1791, traversing nearly the route pur- 
sued by the latter three years before, to the German settle- 
ments on the Mohawk. The object of this 
Navigation. journey was partially of a business character, 
but more especially to gratify the curiosity ex- 
cited by his previous tour, and to scrutinize opinions on the 
subject of an inland navigation, which had been suggested 
by his former investigations. 

From Schenectady they dispatched two bateaux, with six 
men and ample provisions for six weeks, and proceeded by 
land to meet their fellow voyagers, Van Cortlandt and Bay- 
ard, with the boats at Herkimer. 

The Journal of Mr. Watson thus proceeds : 

" September 4th. We proceeded on our journey, with a 
miserably covered wagon, and in a constant rain, till night, 
which brought us to Major Schuyler's mills, in Palatine, 
settled by the descendants of German emigrants, intermixing 
on all sides with the enterprising sons of the East, between 
whom mutual prejudices ran high. These feelings will grad- 
ually be overcome by intermarriages, and other modes of in- 



I79 1 -] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 337 

tercourse. Thus far, the German and Dutch farmers have 
been, in a manner, totally remiss in cultivating 
the first rudiments of literature, while the de- German, Dutch, 
scendants of the English in New England have Settlers, 
cherished it as a primary duty. Hence, the 
characteristics of each people are very different. When liter- 
ature shall begin to shed its benign rays over this benighted 
race, then, and not till then, the Germans, the Dutch, and the 
Yankees, will dismiss all local, illiberal prejudices and distinc- 
tions ; and, in twenty or thirty years, the shades of discord- 
ance will be hardly perceptible. The whole will amalgamate, 
and all be dignified by the general name of American ; speak- 
ing the same language, and possessing the same genius and 
education. I have noticed with pleasure, that the German 
farmers begin to use oxen, in agriculture, instead of horses. 
For this salutary improvement, they are indebted to the ex- 
ample of the New England men. 

" I am induced to believe, should the western canals ever 
be made, and the Mohawk river become in one sense a con- 
tinuation of the Hudson river, by means of 
canals and locks, that it will most clearly ob- 
viate the necessity of sending produce to market in winter, 
by sleighs. On the contrary, it would be stored upon the 
margin of the Mohawk in winter, and be sent in the summer 
months by bateaux, to be unloaded aboard of vessels in the 
Hudson. 

" The bottoms or lowlands along the Mohawk, are laid off 
into rich enclosures, highly cultivated, principally by indus- 
trious Germans. Narrow roads and contracted bridges still 
exist. On the south side of the river the country is more 
thickly settled, and many pleasant situations, 

, A / ' in i i ! Mohawk Valley. 

old tarms and wealthy iarmers, appear; but 
these evidently are far behind those of Germany, or England, 
in the profitable science of agriculture. We crossed a new 
15 



338 Men and Times of the Revolution; l l i9 l ~ 

wooden bridge near Schuyler's Mills, seventy-five feet long, 
with a single arch supported by framed work above. I was 
glad to see this, as an entering wedge to more extended im- 
provements. 

" September 7th. This morning, we ascended Fall Hill, 
over a craggy road of one mile. From its summit, we com- 
manded an extensive and picturesque view of the surround- 
ing country in the north, partly settled, but generally in na- 
ture's original brown livery, spotted here and there with an 
opening. 

" We left the Little Falls on our right, and descended into 
the rich settlements of the German-flats. At Eldridge's tavern, 
near Fort Herkimer, we overtook our bateaux, 
Travertine. — a ^ we ^> — an d embarked, the same evening, 

stemming fourteen miles against a strong cur- 
rent, with an awning spread over our heads. Each boat was 
manned by three men, two in the bow, and one in the stern 
to steer. They occasionally rowed in still water, setting, with 
short poles, at the rapids, with surprising dexterity. In this 
mode, their average progress is three miles an hour, equal to 
trekschuit travelling in Holland ; but it is extremely labori- 
ous, and fatiguing to the men. At night, we encamped in a 
log hut on the margin of the river. 

" September 8th. A pleasant sail of ten miles, this fine 
morning, brought us to old Fort Schuyler. Here we were 
joined by General Van Cortlandt and Mr. Bayard, who were 
waiting for us, which makes our number thirteen. From Lit- 
tle Falls, thus far, the river is nearly competent to inland navi- 
gation, with the exception of a serious rapid, and a great bend 
at the German-flats, called Wolf-riff, which must be subdued 
either by a cut across the neck of land, upwards 
stanwix nd F ° rt of a mile > or fe y removing the obstructions. An 
Indian road being opened from this place, now 
Utica, to the Genesee county, it is probable, the position at 



I79 1 -] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 339 

Fort Stanwix and this spot will become rivals, as to the site 
of a town in connection with the interior, when it shall be- 
come a settled country. If, however, the canals should be 
constructed, I think Fort Stanwix will take the lead, at a fu- 
ture day. Such was my impression, when there, in 1788. 
Since that, only a few houses and stores have been erected 
here, also a tolerable tavern to administer comfort to the 
weary traveller, which I experienced the want of, three years 
ago. 

" In the afternoon, we progressed thirteen miles, meeting 
with many obstructions, in consequence of the cruel conduct 
of the new settlers, (who are wonderfully increased since I 
was here,) in filling the river with fallen trees cut on its mar- 
gin, narrowing it in many places, producing shoals where the 
deepest waters had been accustomed to flow, and impeding 
the progress of our boats. We pitched our camp on the right 
bank of the river, in the midst of woods. All hands fell to 
work, soldier-like. We soon had a roaring 
fire, and our tents pitched, — open on one side 
to the fire, and closed at each end with canvas. We found 
an excellent substitute for feathers, — laying our buffaloes on 
hemlock twigs, although the ground was extremely moist, we 
were effectually protected from any inconvenience. We en- 
joyed a pleasant night, with ten times more comfort than in 
the miserable log huts along the banks of the river. 

" September 9th. At noon, we reached Fort Stanwix, to 
which place, with some aid of art, the river continues adapted 
to inland navigation for boats of five tons burden. Emi- 
grants are swarming into these fertile regions, in shoals, like 
the ancient Israelites, seeking the land of promise. 

" We transported our boats and baggage across the car- 
rying-place, a distance of two miles, over a dead flat, and 
launched them into Wood Creek, running west. It is a mere 
brook, at this place, which a man can easily jump across. 



340 Men and Times of the Revolution; [179*. 

In contemplating this important creek, as the only water 

communication with the immense regions in 

Wood Creek. ^he west, which are destined to bless millions 

Canal ' 

improvement. of freemen in the approaching century, I am 
deeply impressed with the thought, consider- 
ing the great resources of this State, that the improvement of 
our internal navigation cannot much longer escape the de- 
cided attention of our law-makers, and more especially as it 
is obviously practicable. When effected, it will open an un- 
interrupted water communication, from the immense fertile 
regions in the West to the Atlantic. But, more of this, as I 
advance in my travels. 

"The situation of Fort Stanwix appears destined to be- 
come a great city. It lies in an open plain, — 
fes^fbeT 1 *' healthy and exactly at the point where the 
eastern and western waters unite. There is a 
large clearing about the old fort, with two or three scattering 
houses. No progress has, however, been made, since I at- 
tended the treaty here in 1788, although the plan of a city 
is now contemplated. 

" September 10th. This morning, our bateaux began to 
descend Wood CreekJ with the aid of a mill-dam which had 
been filled just above. Some of our party at the same time 
descended by land, on a tolerable wagon-road to Canada Creek, 
six miles. 

" Although aided by the sluice, we progressed with in- 
finite difficulty. In many places, the windings are so sud- 
den and so short, that, while the bow of the 
Travelling. ^oat was ploughing in the bank on one side, 

her stern was rubbing hard against the opposite 
shore. In some places, our men were obliged to drag the 
boats by main strength ; and in others, the boughs and limbs 
were so closely interwoven, and so low, as to arch the creek 
completely over and oblige all hands to lie flat. These ob- 



1791.] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 341 

stacles, together with the sunken logs and trees, rendered our 
progress extremely difficult, often almost impracticable. 

"From a superficial view of this important creek, it 
appears to me, the great difficulties may be 
surmounted: first, by cutting away all the tescrib^ ek, 
bushes and trees on its banks ; second, by cut- 
ting across the necks, and removing all sunken logs and 
trees; and lastly, by erecting substantial sluices or inclined 
planes, at given distances, so as to continue a head of water 
from sluice to sluice. This creek, in its present state, may 
be considered a natural canal, from ten to twenty feet wide. 
Bateaux which ascend the creek, and frequently the descend- 
ing boats at this season, are dragged by horses travelling in 
the water. This is a work of incredible fatigue and difficulty. 
The accession of Canada Creek more than doubles the size 
of Wood Creek. 

" September 11th. Last night, and this day, we were inun- 
dated with heavy rains which our tent was unable to repel ; 
in consequence, we all were exposed in the most uncomfort- 
able manner. In the intervals of showers, we amused our- 
selves with catching fish. Salmon, Oswego bass, cat-fish, 
chubs, trout, pike, are the fish common in this river. Salmon 
are sometimes caught at the mill-dams, near Fort Stanwix. 

" September 12. At 3 o'clock, we reached the royal block- 
house, at the east end of the Oneida Lake. The 
innumerable crooks and turns in Wood Creek, 
carried us to every point of the compass. Should the western 
canals ever be attempted, I am persuaded that this creek may 
be shortened at least one-third. The lands on each side of 
Wood Creek are low, and heavily timbered with beach, maple, 
oak, elm, linden, and, near the lake, some white pine. Bears 
are plentiful, and deer scarce. At two miles 

Fish. Creek 

from the lake, the river suddenly widened, and 

we took to our oars. Fish Creek, one mile from the lake, falls 



342 Men and Times of the Revolution; O791. 

into Wood Creek from the north, and is about a hundred feet 
wide. Thence to the lake, the stream is bold and spacious. 
We caught a cat-fish, as large as a common sized cod, meas- 
uring five inches between the eyes. 

" September 13th. This morning, we wrote home, by a 
boat coming from the west loaded with hemp, raised, at the 
south end of the Cayuga lake. What a glorious acquisition 
to agriculture and commerce do these fertile and extensive 
regions in the west present, in anticipation! 
Country. ■^• n( ^ what a pity, since the partial hand of 

Nature has nearly completed the water com- 
munication from our utmost borders to the Atlantic ocean, 
that Art should not be made subservient to her, and complete 
the great work ! 

" Immediately after breakfast, we embarked, doubled a point 
of land, and entered the Oneida lake, with our sails filled by 
a light easterly breeze. The lake opened to our view, spread- 
ing before us like a sea. We glided smoothly 
Oneida Lake over its surface, and were delighted with a 
tion. e charming day. On the south, is the Oneida 

Eeservation, at present inhabited by the Onei- 
da nation of Indians. The country lies flat, for eight or ten 
miles, and then swells into waving hills. On the north, it is 
generally low, but heavily timbered. This lake is thirty 
miles long, and from five to eight broad. We are now sail- 
ing parallel with the Ontario ocean, which I hope to see ; and 
I enjoy, at least in delightful anticipation, the prospect of a 
free and open water communication from thence to the Atlan- 
tic, via Albany and New York. 

11 Looking into futurity, I saw-those fertile regions, bounded 
west by the Mississippi, north by the great 
Project lakes, east by the Alleghany mountains, and 

south by the placid Ohio, overspread with mil- 
lions of freemen ; blessed with various climates, enjoying every 



I 79 I «] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 343 

variety of soil, and commanding the boldest inland naviga- 
tion on this globe ; clouded with sails, directing their course 
toward canals, alive with boats passing and repassing, giving 
and receiving reciprocal benefits, from this wonderful country 
prolific in such great resources. 

" In taking this bold flight of imagination, it was impossible 
to repress a settled conviction, that a great effort will be made 
to realize all my dreams. 

"Near the west end of the lake, are two small islands, on 
one of which resides a respectable Frenchman, who came from 
France a few years since, and has voluntarily 
sequestered himself from the world, and taken 
up his solitary abode upon this island, with no society but 
his dogs, guns, and library; yet he appeared happy and 
content. 

" This lake is extremely turbulent and dangerous, a small 
breeze producing a short bobbing sea, in conse- 
quence of its shoal waters. The bateaux-men Dangers 
commonly hug the north shore as safest, as well Navigation, 
as more direct from point to point. On that 
side, these points project less into the lake than on the south 
shore. The wind soon rose to a brisk side gale, which occa- 
sioned such a dangerous agitation as obliged us to make a 
harbor at Twelve Mile Point, near which we noticed two 
large bears, walking along the shore in majestic confidence. 
We trolled with our lines, and caught some bass ; the day 
concluded with heavy rains, and a violent squall. In spite 
of our tents, we were much wet, and were half suffocated with 
smoke. 

" September 14th. Early this morning, we embarked, and 
proceeded across the lake, rowing, with a light breeze in our 
favor. We passed the seven mile islands, already mentioned, 
after stopping to breakfast on the north shore; soon after 
which, the shores suddenly narrowed, and we found ourselves 



344 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1791. 

opposite Fort Brewerton, at the entrance of the Onondaga 

river, which is a very shallow stream. We 
Brewerton. landed near the old fort, where we found two 

families and a handsome improvement. After 
refreshing ourselves, under the first Christian roof which had 
sheltered us in five days, we commenced descending the 

Onondaga river, with an easy current. The 
E?ver daga river is generally about three hundred feet 

wide. It is nineteen miles and three quarters 
to Three Eiver Point. In this distance, there are three or 
four pretty long rapids ; but these obstructions can easily be 
removed, and a boat channel be formed. 

" We observed, in many places on this river, small piles of 
stones, which, we were told, are thrown up by salmon, where 
they cast their spawn, to protect them from other fish. These 
waters abound in cat-fish, salmon, bass, eels, and corporals, all 
very fine and fat. They are caught in eel- wears, formed by 

Indians, thus : — Two walls of loose stones are 
Eei-wears Shing ' thrown up, obliquely descending across the 

river, to a point, where they are taken at a 
small opening, in baskets or eel pots. Salmon are caught at 
the Oswego Falls in the night, by spearing them, as they 
vault up the falls, by the aid of torch lights. 

"The shore along the town of Cicero is generally low, 
heavily timbered, with some pine ridges. In the course of 
the day, we were incommoded by rain. In the evening we 
pitched our tent at Mr. Moses De Witt's camp at the Three 
Eiver Point. He, with a company of surveyors, is locating 
the military lands, destined as gratuities for the troops of the 
New York line in the late war. Here, the Onondaga river 

from the east, and the Seneca from the west, 
Sems^^Wers 1 f° rm a junction, in majestic silence, without 

rippling or confusion. Their waters mingle in 
a spacious confluence, and descend by a northeast course into 



179 1 -J Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 345 

Lake Ontario, at Fort Oswego, which is twenty-four miles 
distant. 

" Fort Oswego is, at present, garrisoned by a captain's com- 
pany of British soldiers, in violation of the treaty of 1783 ; 
but, according to my calculations, this violent 
and truly British aggression will be of short 
duration. A high-spirited independent nation will not long 
brook the insult. 

" We were visited in our camp, this evening, by several 
troublesome Indians, of the Onondaga tribe, attended by 
some young squaws. They came with pressing 
importunities for rum, rum ! — a terrible scourge Fndiansf a 

among this unfortunate race of men, who have 
been cut off, by millions, on account of its excessive use since 
America was first peopled by Europeans. Two or three 
white families are settled there. The situation is high and 
healthy, fronting the communication with Canada, and a cen- 
tral point from east, west, and north. 

" In my view, a large city will rise at this spot during the 
ensuing century. A canal communication from hence to Os- 
wego harbor, although the obstacles are great at this point, is 
necessary to complete the great chain of water communica- 
tion from Ontario to the Hudson, admitting that the other 
points I have contemplated are accomplished. To effect this 
part of the navigation, will be a work of infinite difficulty 
and great expense, as there is about one hundred feet fall to 
the lake. 

11 September 15th. This morning, we were visited by old 
Kiadote, king of the Onondaga Indians, with several war- 
riors and his queen, who brought us some ex- 
cellent fresh salmon, and eels, in a basket slung -^jlif Queen, 
to her back, for which we gave them in ex- 
change rum and biscuits. Kiadote possesses a sensible, se- 
date face; the queen appeared modest and humble. The 
15* 



346 Men and Times of the Revolution; [ I 79 I - 

name of Kiadote means a tree with thorns, and fruit upon it. 
The queen is called Kanastoretar, meaning a good house- 
wife. 

" Of all the languages I ever have heard, no other strikes 
T ,. my ear so pleasantly as the Indian, especially 

Languages ; from the mouth of a female. Their accent is 

their melody. i • o, -i o -m n ■ it 

J harmonious, solt, and lull 01 music, swelling 
and descending, in a manner grateful to the ear. I am told, 
that it is easily attained. 

" We re-embarked, ascending the Seneca river against the 
current coming from the west. In about a mile, we en- 
countered a considerable rapid and an eel- wear, 

Seneca River. , x , ' 

and saw a party, ol Indians encamped tor the 
purpose of fishing. After about eight miles sailing, passing 
two or three rapids, and low lands heavily timbered, we en- 
tered a small narrow river, leading south into the Salt Lake, 
one mile from the Seneca river. Previous to our entrance 
into this natural canal, we observed, that the color of the 
water had changed to a greenish cast ; and, on entering the 
creek, we noticed a disagreeable stench, like dock mud or 
bilge water, the shore white with froth, and the bottom 
covered with a white sediment. 

" This lake opened most pleasantly before us, six miles in 
length, north-west and south-east, and about two wide. The 
country in the back-ground is irregularly bro- 
ken into hills and dales; on the west, it is more 
waving. With a light breeze we hoisted our sails, and con- 
templated a country pleasantly situated on each side of us as 
we sailed along, lying as yet in a state of nature, but destined 
to assume, at a period not very far distant, the cheerful as- 
pect of civilized settlements. We steered by our map and 
compass, and, with some difficulty, found the 
creek on which the salt-works are now erected, 
half a mile from its mouth, at the foot of a hill. These works 



I79 1 -] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 347 

are in a rude, unfinished state, but are capable of making 
about eight thousand bushels of salt per annum, which is 
nearly the quantity required for the present consumption of 
the country. The mines are so abundant, as to be equal to 
the supply for the United States, even when our population 
shall reach one hundred millions. Providence has happily 
placed this great source of comfort and wealth, precisely in a 
position accessible by water in every direction. 

"When the mighty canals shall be formed, and locks 
erected, they will add vastly to the facility of an extended 
diffusion, and the increase of its intrinsic worth. 
It will enter Ontario, and the other great lakes ; 
and find its way down the St. Lawrence by Oswego, into 
Pennsylvania, and the Chesapeake ; up Seneca river to the 
head of the Seneca lake, and by a portage (perhaps eventu- 
ally a canal) of eighteen miles to Newtown, on the Susque- 
hanDa river ; and, through canals in contemplation, up Wood 
Creek and down the Mohawk river, into the Hudson. When- 
ever works are properly constructed on a large scale, the salt 
may be delivered for twenty -five cents a bushel, — probably 
less; but the expense of transportation, under present ob- 
struction, will limit its consumption to the western country. 
We found the waters in the springs so highly impregnated, as 
to bear a potatoe. Five parts of water produce one of salt. 
A man will make eleven biishels a day, in the present waste- 
ful mode, by which it requires a cord of wood. The State 
has wisely reserved a mile round the lake, for fuel, for the 
future benefit of the inhabitants. The present price at the 
works, is seventy-five cents a bushel. The quality is exceed- 
ingly good, white, and of a handsome grain. 

" The soil, from the south-east corner, for 
several miles round the west side of the lake, described! 

is so strongly impregnated with salt, that the 
Golor of the water of the lake is exactly like that of the sea ; 



348 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1791. 

and, approaching the shore, is nearly as salt. The bottom is 
a quicksand, and clay covered with a white sediment. At 
dark, we grounded on a shoal in the lake, and with some 
difficulty extricated ourselves, and landed on an inhospitable 
beach, where, with infinite trouble, we obtained a little fire- 
wood, by groping about in the dark. It blew a gale, and 
rained hard. In this dilemma we were standing, a long 
anxious hour, before we could behold the cheering rays of 
fire-light to comfort and dry us. 




Indian Salt Boilers. Page 351. 



OHAPTEE XIII. 



Indian 
Robbery. 



11 September 16th. One of our party lost all his baggage 
last night, which we supposed was stolen by- 
some lurking Indians who were hovering round 
our camp. We coasted along, on the south 
shore of the lake, and ascended the Onondaga creek, dis- 
charging from the south into the Salt lake. We landed at an 
old Indian camp, and crossed a neck of land to a hard beach, 
which I presume is an entire bed of salt at no great depth, as 
by making little holes, with our canes, in the hard surface, 
salt water immediately oozed in, as strongly 
impregnated as at the springs. ^ Saft^makers. 

" Here the Indians were making salt, of which 
they use but little. From hence we coasted north, on the 



350 Men and Times of the Revolution; [_ l i9 l * 

west side of the lake, with a strong gale ahead. We 
passed several birch canoes with Onondaga Indians, re- 
turning from fishing, accompanied by all their families, 
children, dogs, cats, fowls, etc. These birch canoes are 
extremely light. They sail like ducks upon the water ; and 
some of them are whimsically painted. In one of these 

canoes, the king and queen were paddling, and 
KoyXFamiiy. their son steering. We hove-to, and were some 

time talking by signs, and trafficking biscuit 
and rum for smoked eels and salmon. This counts the 
seventh of the chiefs and royal personages whom I have seen 
in my travels : — Little Carpenter, Chief of the Cherokees, 
February, 1778 ; Louis XVI., King of France, September, 
1779 ; Joseph, Emperor of Germany, October, 1781 ; George 
III., King of Great Britain, December, 1782; the Stadt- 
holder of Holland, June, 1787 ; New-Kiver, Chief of the 
Catawbas, October, 1787 ; and lastly, Kiadote, Chief of the 
Onondagas, September, 1791. 

"It is surprising to observe, how tenaciously the Indians 

adhere to their native customs, although border- 
^j^ r ,^ lts ' ing on and intermixed with white men. They 

stick to the Indian to the last man, with a few 
exceptions; and this demonstrates a well-known fact, that 
they despise our customs as heartily as we do theirs. They 
view us, as a race of mortals degenerated into effeminacy, 
and unworthy the native dignity of man, in which they pride 
themselves. 

"We entered the Seneca river, proceeded 

west, and encamped near the Cross lake, in a 
disagreeable camp, having passed several rafts and eel-wears. 
" September 17th. This morning, we doubled a handsome 
point of land, in the town of Lysander, and then hauled north- 
west, which soon opened to our view the Cross lake. We 
landed on a high piece of ground, at the east entrance of the 



I79 1 -] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 351 

lake, where we saw a multitude of names cut upon large beech 
trees ; and we then traversed the lake, partly in an oblique 
direction. On the south, a deep bay makes in. The adjacent 
ground lies low, but, at a little distance, rises into hills of an 
easy slope. 

" At the south-west corner of the lake, we again entered 
the Seneca river, contending against the current, with the 
township of Brutus on each side of us. We passed the outlet 
of the Skaneateles lake on our left, falling into the Seneca 
river. We observed many islands, and the wild ducks con- 
tinually starting up among them. The river improves in 
width and depth, as we progress west. We encamped at the 
west end of an island, on a high cliff. 

" September 19th. Proceeded to lot 80, in Brutus, to ex- 
amine the Salt Works. After traversing a marsh, about fifty 
rods, sweetly perfumed with aromatic Seneca grass, which 
the Indians wear round their necks, in braids, 

... n t n Aromatic Grass. 

to enjoy the perfume, and as a preventive oi 
headache, we reached two or three log huts, where salt is 
made on a pitiful scale, by a few cadaverous beings stalking 
on two legs. I am greatly mistaken, if there is not a con- 
tinued vein of salt, from the Salt Lake to the 
Cayuga lake, a distance of thirty -four miles. I ep0S1 s * 

ground this hypothesis on the following reasons. First, the 
color of the water and bottom, in the vicinity of the Cayuga 
Lake ; second, the extensive salt marshes, for seven or eight 
miles before we reach the lake ; third, the two salt springs 
already opened in Brutus, and some indications of salt near 
the Cayuga ferry. 

" Should the event verify my suppositions, it will stamp an 
additional value on this vast source of wealth. 
They manufacture at present, in a miserable aSm?"" 
log hut, about two bushels a day. From hence 
to the Cayuga Lake, six miles, we were much impeded in 



352 Men and Times of the Revolution; [mw- 

our progress, by a rank weed and the salt marshes, in which 
we were continually entangled. In the afternoon, we reached 
the opening of the Cayuga Lake, after stopping at a house, to 
administer medicine to a sick family. By doing 
this on several occasions, I obtained the appella- 
tion of Doctor, on my return, when I examined my patients, 
all of whom were doing well. I was delighted, on entering 
this charming lake. The shores on each side swell into gentle 
eminences ; but our view south was obstructed by a point of 
land projecting from each shore. 

" We traversed the lake obliquely, three miles, to the ferry- 
house. Here we pitched our tent, for the night, with bad 
accommodations, surrounded by land pioneers, many of whom 
were rude and uncouth, both in manners and 
appearance ; but, they are a useful race of 
citizens, calculated to subdue the wilderness, and make way 
for more civilized settlers, rising by gradations. In spite of 
fleas and bugs, as this was the only civilized roof we had 
slept under for ten nights, we submitted cheerfully to our 
fate. I had reason, however, before morning, to sigh for the 
luxury of sleeping in the open air, with my feet to the fire. 
I found a difficulty of breathing, pent-up in a close room, the 
air of which, being contaminated by different breaths, or even 
a single breath, is always prejudicial to health. 
Civm z e ed n Life. ^- am convinced, from the experience of ten 
days, that the nearer we approach to the original 
state of savage life, the less we shall be exposed to the com- 
plicated disorders incident to a civilized state. 

" September 20th. We double-manned one of our boats, 
leaving the other, with the principal part of our baggage and 
stores, with one of our men, overcome with fatigue; and we 
proceeded on our way to the Seneca Lake. We sailed north, 
three miles, and then entered a narrow river which connects 
the two lakes. We stemmed a rapid current, three miles, to 



I79 1 -] Or, Memoirs of EVcanah Watson. 353 

the foot of the Seneca Falls. The carrying-place is kept by 

one Smith, who has a comfortable log house, 

and considerable improvements. This transit 

extends one mile. We transported our baggage by land; 

and our men stemmed the rapid, with an empty boat, in a 

surprising manner. 

"From our best estimate, the fall, in an extent of three- 
quarters of a mile, is about twenty feet. Since it is impossible 
to improve the bed of the river, it results that a canal, with 
two or three locks on the north shore, will be the only practi- 
cable means of navigation ; the expense to effect which, will 
bear no proportion to the importance of the object. 

" We walked two miles, by a foot-path, to a place called 
Scawayas, where these rapids commence. Here we re-em- 
barked, and ascended the Seneca Eiver to the Seneca Lake, 
which we entered just as the sun was sinking 
behind the western hills. The distance, by 
water, between these two delightful lakes, is eleven and a 
half miles, the current being pretty strong. We found this 
canal of nature's workmanship connecting the two lakes, 
generally narrow ; in some places, obstructed by small riffs ; 
in others, by fallen trees which can be easily removed. The 
land on the north shore appeared to us poor and uneven, and, 
on the south, rather depressed, until within two miles of the 
Seneca Lake, where it lies low on both sides. As we ap- 
proached the lake, we noticed several small creeks, and some 
natural meadows, and on the north shore a log ferry-house. 
Here we saw the remains of an Indian bridge. At this spot, 
the victorious army of Sullivan forded the river, in pursuit 
of the flying savages, in 1779. The sun was just setting as 
we entered the lake, which opened upon us like a new crea- 
tion, rising to our view in picturesque and romantic beauty. 

" Our prospect extended south, over a bold sheet of water. 
The tops of the hills and trees were just tinged with the de- 



354 Men and Times of the Revolution; [ I 79i« 

parting sun ; the evening was serene ; and my mind involun- 
tarily expanded, in anticipating the period, when the borders 
of this lake will be stripped of nature's livery, and in its 
place will be rich enclosures, pleasant villas, numerous flocks, 
herds, etc. ; and it will be inhabited by a happy race of peo- 
ple, enjoying the rich fruits of their own labors, and the lux- 
ury of sweet liberty and independence, approaching to a 
millennial state. The new village of Geneva 
Gene^a.° f made its appearance, in the north-west point of 

the lake, to which we directed our course, after 
disentangling ourselves from a hard sand-bank at the outlet 
of the lake. 

1 September 21st. Geneva is a small, unhealthy village, con- 
taining about fifteen houses, all log except three, and about 
twenty families. It is built partly on the acclivity of a hill, 
and partly on a flat, with deep marshes north of the town, to 
which is attributed its unhealthiness. We received decent 
accommodations at Patterson's, on the margin of the lake, 
but were troubled, most of the night, by gamblers and fleas, 
— two curses to society. 

" At nine o'clock this fine morning, we re-embarked, and 
traversed the lake obliquely, to Appletown, eleven miles. 
At the entrance of this lake, the south view ap- 
pears like the Hudson, from the middle of the 
river, between Paulus Hook and New York, and presents a 
body of water about as broad. From Geneva, it has much 
the appearance of the North Eiver from Greenwich, two 
points projecting into the lake, similar to Bloomingdale and 
the opposite shore. 

" We pitched our tent at Appletown, a fine tract of land, 
formerly the head-quarters of the Seneca na- 
Orchards ^ on - ^ contains extensive orchards of scatter- 

ing old trees, the only fruit trees in the coun- 
try. Here Sullivan's conquering army wreaked its vengeance, 



I79 1 -] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 355 

by destroying orchards, corn, wigwams, etc. Many of the 
trees are girdled ; and marks of the destructive axe of the sol- 
diery are yet to be seen in every direction. The Senecas were, 
formerly, a powerful nation. Sullivan broke up 
their last strong-hold. Not a vestige is now to ^ttSc"'. 
be seen in this vicinity, as the remnant is settled 
in Canada, under the protection of their friend, the Eoyal 
George. We were astonished to see one hundred and fifty 
people collected at a meeting here. This is a prelude to the 
assembling of thousands, who are destined shortly to possess 
these fertile regions. 

" September 23d. Our boat proceeded, with a brisk gale 
and a considerable swell, to the outlet ; at the same time, I 
took a horse, and travelled by an Indian path obliquely 
across the town of Komulus, seventeen miles, in a north-east 
direction, to our point of starting, on the Cayuga Lake. 

" September 24th. Having rejoined our party at the ferry, 
we dispatched one of our boats to Schenectady, and proceeded 
with the other up Cayuga Lake. We passed an old Indian 
castle on our left. The shore on each side is 
high. We landed occasionally ; noticed distant cayuf^Lake. 
smoke, and here and there a log hut embosomed 
in the venerable forests. In the south-west quarter, the town- 
ship of Ovid made its appearance. It rises beautifully from 
the shore toward its centre. The tops of the trees resemble 
waving fields of wheat at a distance. We sailed along the 
shore of the town of Scipio, a fine tract of rich land, already 
thickly inhabited by new settlers. In the afternoon, we 
landed at Phelps's tavern, where we found good entertain- 
ment in a log house. This is the most thriving settlement 
on the military tract. Here terminates our expedition. The 
advanced season has turned our attention homeward. 

" General Yan Cortlandt and Mr. Bayard having deter- 
mined to gain the old settlements on the Mohawk, by an In- 



356 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1791. 

dian foot-path, Mr. Yan Kensselaer and myself returned by 
water. 

"The map of the world does not exhibit, in any other 
country, two lakes equal in magnitude to the Seneca and Cay- 
uga, so singularly and so happily situated. What 
Seneca and a fertile theme for poets, painters, philosophers, 

descrfbed? *' and travellers, for the last two thousand years, 
had they been found in Italy. They are each 
about thirty-five miles long, and from two to four wide, 
stretching nearly north and south, and running almost paral- 
lel, from seven to fifteen miles distant. Seneca Lake was 
never known to freeze over, owing to its great depth, and its 
being principally fed by springs. The color of the water is 
a pale blue, with a clear bottom. The Cayuga freezes, in 
common with other adjacent waters, eight or ten miles from 
the outlet. From thence south, the water deepens, and it 
seldom freezes ; its color is of a greenish cast. 

"In general, except toward the south, the country lying 
between these delightful lakes rises gradually in symmetry, 
„ , „ from the opposite shores toward the centre, pro- 

Tjfl.K f». Scenery. 

ducing a pleasant effect. Whenever it reaches 
a cultivated state, by the vigorous arm of freemen, it will 
become the paradise of America. Nothing can exceed the 
beauty of the country on the west shore of the Cayuga Lake, 
viewed, at about five miles from its entrance, including 
both the Cayuga Eeservation, and the town of Ovid, which 
bear a strong resemblance to the west shore of the Seneca 
Lake. 

- • The tops of the trees were in beautiful uniformity, the 

symmetry being in no manner broken by hills of great 

magnitude, except in one place, where there is a small clus- 

^ ter of white pines overlooking all the adjacent 

Want of Water. . ™ , n , 

region. The want 01 water seems to be a pre- 
vailing complaint, between the lakes ; but, by sinking wells, 



I79 1 -] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 357 

it is generally found near the surface. Except in this partic- 
ular, nature has been profuse in all her bounties. 

" The soil is luxuriant ; the climate, more temperate than 
in the same parallel on the Atlantic borders ; the situation, 
delightful, and commanding an easy access by water, south 
and east. 

"In a word, I almost deplored the short span of human 
life, that I cannot witness the happiness of those blessed gen- 
erations of Americans, yet unborn, who are destined to in- 
herit these delightful regions. Having devoted my ardent 
and deep attention to the important subject, the 
practicability of opening an uninterrupted water Navigation, 
communication from these interesting lakes, as 
branches of the mighty chain of connected oceans, descending 
by canals and locks to the Hudson Eiver, I shall now sum 
up detailed views and estimates, from that river to the Seneca 
Lake. 

" To open a water communication from the Hudson to the 
Seneca Lake, the following works are indispensable : — 

" First A canal, to connect the Mohawk with the Hudson 
in the nearest direction from river to river, or a canal with 
locks, on the north of the Cohoes, to come out at Waterford. 

" Second. The Mohawk to be cleared of some rocks, and 
the riffs deepened to the Little Falls. 

" Third. A canal of one mile at the Little Falls, either cut 
in the solid rock, or, formed by embankments, and four or 
five locks, the descent being estimated, by the eye and from 
information, at forty-two feet. 

"Fourth. Obstructions to be removed, to Fort Stanwix, 
and some rapids laid open. 

"Fifth. "Wood Creek to be improved, by removing nu- 
merous natural or artificial obstructions ; and, cutting through 
the necks, it may be shortened, probably one-half from Can- 
ada Creek, eighteen miles, as the river meanders. 



358 Men and Times of the Revolution; [ I 79 I - 

" Lastly. To open the riffs and rapids in the Onondaga and 
Seneca rivers, with canals and locks at the Seneca Falls, to 
open communication with the Seneca Lake. 

" A canal and locks to the Oswego Falls from Three-Kiver 

Point, will accomplish the grand desideratum, — the sublime 

plan of opening an uninterrupted water com- 

nictuon°from U " munication from the Hudson to Lake Ontario, 

the Hudson to an( j f r0 m a thousand miles of shore fairly with- 

Lake Ontario. J 

in the limits of this State. Thus also the great 
plan of Washington, to divert the commerce of the immense 
regions in the west, even the fur-trade from Detroit, to his 
beloved Alexandria, would be subjected at least to a fair 
competition. Commerce, like water, will seek its natural 
level; but where once the current has taken a settled direc- 
tion, it will not be easy to divert its course. 

" The further we explored these western waters, the more 
we were impressed with the vast importance of assisting na- 
ture, in the whole extent of the contemplated improvements, 
so that loaded boats, coming from the Hudson river, can reach 
our utmost borders without interruption. Let any man con- 
template a good map ; and he cannot fail to be thus im- 
pressed. Let the same man realize the policy and necessity 
of the measure, by exploring these waters in person ; and the 
first impression will not fail to be heightened to an enthu- 
siasm bordering on infatuation. 

" The improvements I had all along contemplated, either 
at a remote period or as near at hand, led me to attend, with 
a circumspect and inquisitive eye, to the actual state of these 
waters. The prospect is truly animating, when we give a 
loose rein to imagination, and take a deep plunge into futu- 
rity. 

" For luxuriance of soil, mildness of climate, and easy ac- 
cess to market, no other part of the world, so distant from 
the sea as our western country, presents such irresistible al- 



I79 1 -] Or j Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 359 

lurements to emigrants, as well from the eastern hive as from 
Europe. We saw, at every step, the bold and 
venerable forests settling before the strokes of ^Tount^y.^ 
the axe, and farms and population increasing 
on all sides. Nothing will tend with so much certainty to 
accelerate the progress of these great events, and to open a 
door to the happiness of unborn millions, as to render a water 
communication at once cheap and easy of access. Exclusive 
of continuing an intercourse with the greatest chain of lakes 
in the known world, it will give a powerful stimulus to a new 
creation in the very heart of this State ; and this will be 
greatly facilitated, by the admission of boats from fifteen to 
twenty tons burden. Hitherto, no boats have been able to 
navigate these waters, carrying over eight or ten barrels ; and 
the expense has overbalanced the benefits. Again, by trav- 
ersing from the harbor of Oswego about sixty miles on the 
south shore of Lake Ontario, vessels of sixty or seventy tons 
burden may receive the whole produce of the Genesee 
country, at the outlet of Genesee Eiver, and also at the out- 
let of Lake Erie, at Port George, which can be easily con- 
veyed in vessels thence to the harbor of Oswego, and thence 
be taken, in large bateaux, through the proposed navigation, 
to the Hudson river, to be re-shipped either at Albany or at 
New York, for foreign markets. 

" On this momentous subject, a single question arises. Are 
we advanced to a sufficient state of maturity, to justify an un- 
dertaking of this magnitude ? If we proceed on the Euro- 
pean mode of calculation, waiting in the first instance to find 
the country, through which canals are to pass, in a state of 
maturity and improvement, the answer is at hand; — No! 
But, calculating on the more enlarged American scale, and 
considering the physical circumstances of the country in 
question, should canals precede the settlements, it will be 
justified on the principles of sound policy. In return it will 



360 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1791 

inevitably follow, that a vast wilderness will, as it were 
by magic, rise into instant cultivation. If 
Canals, to executed gratuitously by the public, the State 

settlements. will in effect be retarded only a few years, in 
receiving a tenfold return for all its disburse- 
ments. If, on the other hand, it should be performed by pri- 
vate individuals, having a toll in view, their remuneration 
would probably be small for a few years ; but the increasing 
benefit which will arise from this species of property, will 
keep equal pace with the augmenting settlement and cultiva- 
tion of the country. 

"In my estimation for a permanent property, it will be 
found, eventually, the most productive of any in America. 
On a scale of truly enlarged policy, therefore, it would, doubt- 
less, be sound wisdom, should the State execute the project, 
out of its own ample means, and leave the pas- 

state CaLis. sa S e ^ ree an( ^ °P en > as otherwise posterity will 
be burdened with a heavy tax,— in the article 
of toll, — to the emolument of the successors of the first adven- 
turers ; which ought not to exist in a land of liberty, where 
the intercourse should be as free as the air we breathe. 

" We traversed the whole length of the Oneida Lake, thirty 
miles, from sunset to about two o'clock in the 

Oneida Lake. . ~ „ ,-. 1 ,, , , 

morning. Our poor ieliows rowed the whole 
distance, in the dark, like machines in perpetual motion, tell- 
ing wonderful stories and singing characteristic songs. Being 
apprehensive of a storm, they persevered resolutely without 
stopping. Sitting for such a length of time, eight hours, in 
the same position, when we reached the royal block-house at 
the east end of the lake, it was with great difficulty that we 
commanded the use of our limbs. On our way to Schenec- 
tady, we examined several places which we omitted on our 
journey west, especially the flourishing settlement at Whites- 
town and the Little Falls. 



I79 1 -] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 361 

" In eight days, we reached Albany, going all the way by 
water to Schenectady. I shall never forget my delighted sen- 
sations, on reaching the Mohawk river. After rambling 
among woods for twenty days, or being cramped up in a 
small boat, exposed to the vicissitudes of the weather, and 
sleeping in the open air, or mingling with pioneer settlers in 
log huts, the contrast of clean sheets and good cheer, with all 
our philosophy to the contrary, was extremely grateful to oar 
habits and feelings, and met with a cordial welcome. 

" Were I to make this tour again, instead of proceeding by 
water, via Fort Stanwix, I would embark at Lake Otsego, 
descend the Susquehanna branch to Newtown-Point, and then 
travel by wagon across the Portage to the Seneca Lake, and 
thence pursue the route by which I returned. By this means, 
instead of stemming the Mohawk and Seneca rivers, one 
hundred and fifty miles, it would require only seventy-six 
miles, to stem the Tioga and Onondaga rivers, and Wood 
Creek. 

"From Newtown-Point to the Seneca Lake, 
it is eighteen miles. A canal here, would unite ^Lakls^nd 
all the waters of the State with the Susquehanna Susquehanna 
and Chesapeake : thus making one half of the 
State an island. The idea is sublime in theory, and must 
sooner or later be realized. 

" The bateaux-men who ply between Newtown and Mid- 
dletown, in Pennsylvania, carry from six to eight hundred 
bushels. Their boats, or arks, require from four to seven 
men to work them ; and, sometimes, they go forty miles above 
Newtown, on the Tioga Branch. 

" Some facts within my personal knowledge, ^ 9 t Mail- 

connected with the establishment of the first Albany, 

public conveyance west of Albany, I think 
worthy of notice, as they, with singular force, exhibit the 
progress of improvement. 
16 



362 Men and Times of the Revolution. [179*. 

" On our return from this expedition, Mr. Yan Eensselaer 
and myself arrived at Schenectady on the evening of the 10th 
of October, and proceeded, from the bateau, to the tavern of 
Mr. Hudson. We were naturally, after an absence of six 
weeks, extremely solicitous to reach our families. Mr. Hud- 
son made every effort in his power, during the evening, to 
secure us a suitable conveyance to Albany the ensuing day, 
but without success. He at length informed us, that there 
was no possible way of getting to Albany, except by riding 
on a load of shingles, or to go with a pair of half-broken colts. 
We preferred the latter alternative. We urged Mr. Hudson 
to run a weekly stage to Albany. He seemed much disposed 
to embark in the enterprise, but was, he said, fearful of the 
result; for a Mr. Douglass had made the experiment five 
years before, and ruined himself, as he found no passengers 
to patronize him. In about a fortnight, I met one Beal, who 
carried the mail once a week, usually on horseback, from 
Albany to Canajoharie, which was then the frontier post- 
office. This weekly mail supplied the whole western terri- 
tory. Such was my information. I pressed him to carry his 
mail in a cheap wagon, calculated to accommodate way- 
passengers ; and I gave him a letter to Mr. Hudson, urging 
him to unite with Beal in the measure. 

"Early in December following, I was delighted to hear the 
sound of a stage horn, and to see Beal dashing down State- 
street with the Schenectady and Canajoharie mail-wagon, 
which was announced to run once a week. In the rapid in- 
crease of the settlements in the vicinity of Whitestown, they 
soon found abundant encouragement. 

" To this humble experiment, may be traced the founda- 
tion of the immense and splendid stage organization which 
now connects Albany with the teeming regions of the west. 
The annals of the world do not exhibit, in this department, 
another example of progress so vast and wonderful." 




Poling up the Rapids. Page 353. 



CHAPTER XIV 



The facts collected in these journeys, and the views and 
anticipations formed by his explorations, which are ex- 
hibited in the preceding extracts, were elaborated by Mr. 
Watson, and urged upon the notice of the public, and the 
particular attention of the Legislature, in various essays and 
memorials. These productions attracted the 
attention of General Schuyler, to whose peru- 
sal the original journals of Mr. Watson had 
been submitted. General Schuyler was at that period a 
member of the Senate, and wielded, by his patriotic 
ardor and great and varied talents, a potential influence in 
the State. 

The results which both he and Mr. Watson had contem 



General 
Schuyler. 



364 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1792. 

plated with so much solicitude, were ultimately achieved in 

1792, by the passage of an act, by which two companies 

were chartered, one for " opening a lock navi- 

T 1 A 

Navigation. gation from the navigable waters of the Hud- 

son, to be extended to Lake Ontario and the 
Seneca Lake," — and the other, "from the Hudson to 
Lake Champlain." While this bill was struggling in its 
progress, Mr. Watson attended upon the Legislature, and, 
with the utmost assiduity and zeal, sustained the energetic 
efforts of General Schuyler in promoting its final success. 
The following letter from General Schuyler is 
Schuyler's of interest, from its exhibiting the embarrass- 

Letters on the , t vjy» i,- i • i i j/i 

Subject. ments and dimculties which encompassed the 

measure, and the force and decision of his pur- 
pose in its accomplishment. 

"New York, March Uh, 1T92. 

" Sir : — The letter which T had the pleasure to receive from you, 
should have been acknowledged at a more early day : sickness was 
one cause which prevented, and another proceeded from a wish to 
be able to communicate something decisive on the subject of your 
letter. 

" A joint committee of both houses, — of which committee I was not 
one, — has been formed. This committee reported a bill for incorporat- 
ing two companies, one for the western, another for the northern 
navigation. The former was to have been carried no further than 
Oneida Lake. The bill contemplated a commencement of the works 
from the navigable waters of the Hudson, and to be thence continued 
to the point I have mentioned ; and it obliged the corporation, in a 
given number of years, — which was intended to be ten, — to the com- 
pletion of the whole western navigation. 

" When this bill was introduced into the Senate, the plan generally 
appeared to me so exceptionable, that I thought it incumbent on me to 
state my ideas on the subject at large. They were approved of unani- 
mously by the committee of the whole house, and I was requested to 
draw a new bill. This was done, and it has met with the approbation 
of the committee of the whole, and will be completed to-morrow by 



1792.] Or j Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 365 

filling up the "blanks. By this bill, two companies are to be incorpo- 
rated, one for the western ; the other for the northern navigation. It 
is proposed, that each shall consist of one thousand shares ; that sub- 
scriptions shall be opened by commissioners at New York and Albany ; 
that the books shall be kept open a month ; that if more than one thou- 
sand shares are subscribed, the excess deducted from each subscription 
pro rata, so, nevertheless, as that no subscriber shall have less than one 
share ; that every subscriber shall pay at the time of subscription, say 
thirty dollars, and that the directors of the incorporation shall, from 
time to time, as occasion may require, call on the subscribers for addi- 
tional moneys to prosecute the work to effect, whence the whole sum 
for each share is left indefinite. 

" The Western Company are to begin their works at Schenectady, 
and to proceed to Wood Creek. If this part is not completed in 

years, say six or eight, then the Corporation is to cease ; but, 

having completed this in years more,- — say ten, they are to be 

allowed further time for extending the works to the Seneca Lake, and 
to Lake Ontario ; and if not completed within that term, then the in- 
corporation to cease, so far forth only as relates to the western naviga- 
tion from Wood Creek to the lakes. The State is to make an immedi- 
ate donation of money, which I proposed at ten thousand pounds for 
each company, but which I fear will be reduced to five thousand 
pounds for each company. I thought it best, that the operations 
should begin at Schenectady, lest the very heavy expense of a canal, 
either directly from Albany to Schenectady, or by the way of the 
Cohoes or Half-Moon, might have retarded, if not have totally ar- 
rested, at least for a long time, the navigation into the western coun- 
try, and conceiving that if the navigation to the Cohoes was com- 
pleted, the continuation of it from Schenectady to the Hudson would 
eventually and certainly take place, A given toll per ton will be 
permitted, for the whole extent from the Hudson to the lakes ; and this 
toll will be divided by the directors to every part of the canals and 
navigation, in proportion to the distances which any boat may use the 
navigation. Provision is made, that if the toll does not produce, in 
a given time, six per cent, the directors may increase it until it does, 
but the corporation is ultimately confined to a dividend of fifteen per 
cent. Both corporations are in perpetuity, provided the works are 
completed in the times above mentioned. 

" The size of the boats which the canals are to carry, is. not yet 
determined. I believe it will be that they shall draw, when loaded, 



366 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1792. 

two and a half feet of water. This is substantially the bill, so far 
as it relates to the western navigation. 

" The northern company is to commence its works at Troy, and to 
deepen the channel at Lansingburg, so as to carry vessels of greater 
burden to that place than are now capable of going there. The 
blank for this purpose I think will be filled up with two feet ; that is, 
the channel is to be deepened two feet. From Lansingburg, the 
navigation is to be improved by deepening the river by locks and 
canals to Fort Edward, or some point near it, and thence to be car- 
ried to Wood Creek, or some of its branches, and extend to Lake 
Champlain. Tolls, etc., are to be on the same principle as on the 
western navigation. A clause was proposed, for preventing any 
canals to the Susquehanna, but it was lost ; it being conceived im- 
proper to oblige the inhabitants of the western country to make 
Hudson river, or the commercial towns on it, their only markets. 

" In the prosecution of these capital objects, I have to combine the 
interests of the community at large with those of my more immediate 
constituents. What the result will be, time must determine. I shall, 
however, be happy if my ideas on the subject shall meet the approba- 
tion of gentlemen more conversant with those matters than I can be 
supposed to be. 

" Excuse the many incorrections of this scrawl ; I have not time to 
make a fair copy. And be so good as to communicate the contents, to 
such gentlemen as feel an interest in the completion of those great 
objects which are the subject of it. 

" I am, Sir, with regard, your obedient servant, 

"Philip Schuyler. 
"E. W tson, Esq." 

New obstacles impeded the consummation of this policy, 
from the difficulties which were encountered in obtaining 
subscriptions to the stock of the company. A vigorous and 
successful impulse was given to the subject, by the course 
adopted in conformity to the suggestions embraced in the 
annexed letter of General Schuyler. 

"New Toek, May 20th, 1792. 

" Dear Sir : — If it had occurred to me, that the paucity of my sub- 
scription would have had the effect you mention, I most certainly would 



i79 2 -] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 367 

have subscribed ten shares in the first instance, impressed, as I am, with 
the importance of the measure, and believing, as I do, that it will be a 
productive fund for the subscribers. 

" Such, Sir, is my opinion of the advantages which will result to the 
subscribers, if a small alteration is made in the Act of Incorporation, 
and which I am persuaded the Legislature will readily assent to, that I 
should not hesitate to hold one hundred shares, provided my ideas on 
the subject should prevail. What these are, I will at a future day de- 
tail to a few select gentlemen. I cannot find they have occurred to any 

one. 

" I am, etc, 

"Philip Schuyler. 
"Elkanah Watson Esq." 

I incorporate the following letter, in reference to the same 
subject, from the distinguished Eobert Morris, not only to pre- 
sent the extent and nature of the agency of Mr. 
Watson, in promoting; the subscription to this Robert Morris, 

x ° L on Inland 

stock, but, equally, to commemorate an instance Navigation, 
of the patriotic and expansive devotion of Mr. 
Morris, which signalized his career, in the advancement of 
every scheme of public benefit and improvement. 

" Philadelphia, June, 11th, 1792. 
" Mr. Elkanah Watson : 

" Sir : — Your favor of the 4th ult. came to hand some time ago ; but, 
a journey into the western country, and other avocations since my 
return, prevented a regular answer in due time. The canal engineer 
has not yet arrived, and I fear he will be longer delayed in England 
than was at first expected ; however, he will certainly be here by 
August or September. 

" I find your subscription did not fill ; I shall therefore empower 
General Schuyler to subscribe for me, and if necessary, I am ready, as 
formerly mentioned, to open and push your subscription here, upon 
being properly authorized so to do. I have no doubt of getting the 
number of shares subscribed that you want. I shall do it, free of any 
charge, and lodge the money in the bank for the orders of the managers 
or directors. 

" I had the article you sent me published, in Dunlop's daily paper. 



368 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1792. 

Am sure your subscription will be filled here, if necessary to send the 
papers forward for the purpose. 

" Your obedient, humble servant, 

"Robert Morris.*' 

Endorsed upon the back of this letter, in the writing of 

Mr. Watson, is the following just and appropriate tribute to 

the character and services of this eminent patriot. " The 

name of Eobert Morris will be associated with the annals of 

the American Eevolution, until time shall be 

Eober^Morris. n0 more - Bte was among the first merchants 
of America, several years previous to that great 
event, in the firm of Willing and Morris. Their operations 
and credit, upon a magnificent scale, extended to every port 
in Europe. This credit, under a benign Providence, was the 
basis of his fiscal measures, when he was placed at the head 
of our finances in the year 1780. We had at that period no 
credit, as a nation, in Europe, and in our financial affairs 
were only sustained by the great talents and personal in- 
fluence of Franklin at Paris, of Adams at the Hague, and of 
Jay at Madrid ; and the pittances which they procured were 
dealt out with hesitation and reluctance. It was far other- 
wise with Morris. By his personal credit, he was enabled to 
create the sinews that moved our armies in 1781 ; without 
which, Cornwallis would not have been captured, and the 
war might have been protracted by a desperate and exasper- 
ated enemy. Such was the writer of the above letter, when 
at the zenith of his glory, although staggering, at that time, 
under the weight of the reponsibilities he had incurred for 
his country, and which a new-born nation could not remove. 
It is lamentable to add, that, thus prostrated through his ar- 
dent zeal and patriotic efforts, he ended his valuable and use- 
ful life in the loathsome precincts of a debtor's prison." 

Companies were organized under this Act. General Schuy- 
ler, Mr. Watson, and Thomas Eddy, seem to have been the 



i79 2 -] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 369 

most active and prominent managers in superintending and 
directing their measures. It is not within the 
province of this work, to trace the operations Companies, 

of these companies. Adequate, perhaps, to 
the exigencies of that period, they were ultimately overshad- 
owed, and their works merged in the greater conception of 
the Erie Canal. That their results were most beneficial and 
important to the country, is established by the fact, that 
boats, of the capacity of sixteen tons, were enabled to navi- 
gate from Schenectady to the southern extremity of Seneca 
Lake, after their completion, and to transport freight, at thirty- 
two dollars per ton ; while, previous to the construction of 
these works, the same waters could not be navigated by boats 
exceeding one and a half tons, and at a charge for freight of 
nearly one hundred dollars per ton. 

In connection with this subject, it should be remarked, that 
a company was chartered in 1798, authorizing the construc- 
tion of a canal round the Falls of Niagara, with 
the purpose of uniting the waters of the upper canaL* FaUs 
lakes with Ontario. This project was promoted 
with great ardor and enthusiasm by Mr. Watson ; and, had 
the designs contemplated by it been achieved, its effects, in 
connection with the work proposed by the law of '92, would 
have anticipated those results which were afterward accom- 
plished by the Erie Canal, — the unlocking of the portals of 
the illimitable west to the trade and commerce of the Hudson. 
Mr. Watson was appointed one of the directors ; and, in con- 
junction with Benjamin Colt, Esq., he made a detailed report, 
the original draft of which, in his handwriting, is now in my 
possession, presenting estimates, and a general exposition of 
the objects and advantages which would be attained by the 
construction of the work. A subsequent more exact survey 
was made, under the direction of the company; but the 
16* 



370 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1820. 

scheme was not accomplished, and it slumbered, until revived 
among the projects and enterprises of the present day. 

I may here, with propriety, in the arrangement of my sub- 
ject, anticipate a term of thirty years, to advert to events 
which emanated from the occurrences of this period, and 
which for several years embittered the life of Mr. Watson by 
an acrimonious and harsh controversy. 

In the year 1820, Colonel Eobert Troup, a personal friend 
of Mr. Watson's, and familiar with, his efforts 
Robert 1 Troup. an( ^ ser vices in the promotion of the internal 
improvements of the State, published an article, 
ascribing to Mr. Watson distinguished merit in the initiation 
and support of its canal policy. The elevated position and 
eminent character of Colonel Troup as a lawyer, — as a former 
Judge of the United States District Court, — and as a citizen, 
impressed this publication with a high sanction. It was suc- 
ceeded by a volume from Mr. Watson, embracing the journal 
of his western explorations, an abstract of which is contained 
in the preceding pages. 

These publications were assailed, in the claims and conclu- 
sions they asserted, by an able and eloquent pamphlet, as- 
cribed with undoubted justice to one of the most distinguished 
statesmen of the age. Colonel Troup replied, 
Controversy. m an elaborate letter, addressed to the Honor- 
able Brockholst Livingston, reaffirming and 
vindicating his original position. A second edition of the 
letter of Colonel Troup was afterward published, together 
with an ample supplement, from the pen of an eminent jurist, 
which enforced the same views, and embraced a general his- 
tory of the rise and progress of the canal interests of the State. 
The question became involved in the party controversies of 
that day, which were distinguished by an unusual rancor and 
vindictiveness. Numerous other publications were elicited 
by this discussion, which produced at least one highly auspi- 



iB2o.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 371 

cious result, by commemorating the facts and the efforts of 
individuals connected with the progress of the stupendous 
canal system of the State, from the commencement to its con- 
summation. A knowledge of these facts and incidents, 
eminently due to justice and history, was thus perpetuated, 
which otherwise would have been lost, or only preserved in 
misty tradition. 

In my own judgment, there never existed any just or 
reasonable cause for the excitement of feeling, or the conflict 
of claims for meritorious services, which were aroused by 
these controversies. The men who projected and accom- 
plished the measures which acquired form and consistency 
from the law of '92, had their gaze intently fixed on the On- 
tario termination. These views, subsequently enlarged, were 
expanded into the plan of connecting that lake with the waters 
of the upper lakes, by the construction of the canal round 
Niagara Falls. A direct communication between the Hudson 
and Lake Erie, did not enter into their contemplations. 

It is equally certain, that the genius which conceived, and 
the energy that effected, the Erie Canal, had no connection 
with the efforts and policy which, a quarter of a century 
earlier, had breathed life and vigor into the spirit of internal 
improvements in the State. The growth of the canal system 
was gradual and progressive ; and, how far the earlier meas- 
ures may have been suggestive of the later, no human in- 
vestigations can now determine. 

The exalted talents of De Witt Clinton, his illustrious ser- 
vices, the ardent and patriotic devotion that led 
him to stake, upon a momentous and doubtful Clinton! 

policy, all the lofty aspirations of an intellect 
like his, always received from Mr. Watson the heartfelt 
tribute of admiration and applause. 

I feel it due to the cause of truth and justice, and the mem- 
ory of my father, to occupy a few pages by introducing the 



372 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1829. 

luminous and dispassionate letter of Colonel Troup on this 
subject, addressed to Dr. David Hosack, the eloquent biog- 
rapher and eulogist of Mr. Clinton, and pub- 
Hosack? d lished in the appendix to his Memoir. It is 

preceded, in that work, by the following expla- 
nations from Dr. Hosack.* " The early views of Elkanah 
Watson, relative to the internal navigation of the State of 
New York, and his services in exploring the western part of 
the State, prior to the Act of 1792, introduced and supported 
by General Philip Schuyler, establishing the inland lock 
navigation companies, and the influence of those measures as 
introductory to the improvements which have since taken 
place, are fully set forth in the following com- 
Goionei Troup's munication from Colonel Troup. This was 
Dr. Hosack. prepared, at my solicitation, in answer to cer- 
tain queries addressed by me to that gentle- 
man. Further remarks on the merits of Mr. Watson and of 
General Schuyler, become unnecessary." 

Letter from Colonel Robert Troup. 

" New York, 22tf January -, 1829. 
" Dear Sir : 

" I have learnt from you, with much satisfaction, that you are en- 
gaged in the meritorious work of rendering justice to those who pro- 
jected our canal policy, and also to those who assisted in giving it 
practical effect. 

" That my information may more exactly correspond with your 
wishes, I proceed to furnish it in the shape of precise answers to the 
following questions, which you have heen pleased to submit to my con- 
sideration. 

" 1. In what year did Mr. Watson first direct his attention to the 
western part of the State ? And how far did he proceed in exploring it? 

" 2. What was the import of his suggestions to General Schuyler, 
respecting the improvement of the navigation between Hudson River and 

* Hosack's Memoir of De Witt Clinton, page 289. 



1829.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 373 

the Western Lakes 1 And did the suggestions aim at the improvement 
of the natural navigation, then existing, of the lakes, rivers, and creeks 
of our western country, and as a medium of connection between them 1 
or, did they aim at the construction of a continued canal 7 ? And if the 
latter, what was to be its course and extent 1 

" 3. What share had Mr. Watson in procuring the passage of the canal 
act of March, 1792? 

" In answer to the first question I observe, that Mr. Watson's mind 
naturally inclines him to speculate in improvements of a public nature. 
This inclination has derived additional strength from Mr. Watson's trav- 
elling,* while he was young, in Flanders, in Holland, and in England, 
and attentively examining the canals he met with ; and also from visit- 
ing General Washington, at Mount Vernon, and conversing freely with 
him on his favorite subject of uniting the western waters with the 
Potomac. Thus prompted by natural inclination, and, at the same time, 
urged by patriotic motives, Mr. Watson, in September, 1788, made a 
journey from Albany to Fort Stanwix, now called Rome, where State 
Commissioners were holding a treaty with the Indians for the purchase 
of their western lands. What Mr. Watson in this journey saw of the 
face of the country and of the courses of its waters, and especially the 
situation of Rome, inflamed his imagination with the lofty conception 
that, by removing obstructions in the rivers and creeks, and cutting 
canals to connect them, the State might open a navigable communication 
between the waters of the Hudson and those of the great lakes ; a meas- 
ure which Mr. Watson supposed would necessarily tend * to divert the 
trade of the lakes from Quebec and Alexandria to Albany and New 
York.'f 

" After reflecting for several years on this important measure, and 
becoming by his reflections more partial to it, Mr. Watson in company 
with a few friends, in the autumn of 1791, travelled, partly by land, 
but chiefly by water, from Schenectady to Geneva, in Ontario county. 
Mr. Watson kept a particular journalj of these travels ; and from his 
journal it appears, that he carefully explored the ground, lakes, rivers, 
and creeks lying in his route, and was sanguine in his opinion of the 
feasibility of opening a navigable communication between the Hudson 
and the Western lakes ; and dwelling, almost with rapture, on the vast 

* See Mr. Watson's History of the Western Canals, p. 8. 
I History of Western Canals, p. 30. 
% lb. p. 25. 



374 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1829. 

benefits such a communication would be likely to produce, Mr. Watson 
pressed it in emphatic terms on the ' policy of the State.' Anticipating 
this policy, he promised to notice every obstacle, and, according to his 
1 best judgment, to devise plans and make estimates.' And he further 
promised, ' by every effort in his power, to excite the public attention 
to the grand object ;' insisting that ' its cost would bear no comparison 
with the immense advantages the State would be sure to derive from 
it.' 

" In answer to the second question I observe, that in January, 1792, 
Mr. Watson delivered his journal to General Schuyler, who was then 
a leading member of our Senate. With his journal, Mr. Watson also 
delivered to the General a report,* framed from the remarks and esti- 
mates which the journal contained. The report minutely traced the 
route of the proposed navigation ; described the obstacles to be removed ; 
suggested the mode of removal ; calculated the probable expense of 
some of the operations ; and concluded with a declaration, that l it 
would require a folio volume to point out the advantages that would re- 
sult to the Union, to the State, and to individuals, by laying the navi- 
gation entirely open.' 

" Mr. W^atson did not extend his travels to Oswego, because the fort 
at that place was still possessed by British troops, owing to the non- 
execution of the treaty of peace. But in his journal, Mr. Watson said 
it would be necessary to improve the navigation to Oswego, in order 
to ' complete the chain of water communications from Ontario to the 
Hudson.' 

" From Mr. Watson's report, it is obvious that the route designated 
by him, was from Schenectady to the Seneca and Ontario lakes ; and 
that he contemplated the improvement of the natural navigation, by the 
intermediate lakes, rivers, and creeks, as a medium of connection be- 
tween them, without intending a continued canal. Indeed, Mr. Wat- 
son himself, speaking of his own views and those of his fellow-labor- 
ers, frankly disclaims all idea of having suggested a continued canal, 
or attempted more than to improve the natural navigation to the Seneca 
and Ontario lakes, when he says, ' that the utmost stretch of our view 
was, to follow the track of Nature's canal, and to remove natural or ar- 
tificial obstructions ; but we never entertained the most distant concep- 
tion of a canal from Lake Erie to the Hudson. We should not have 

* See Appendix to Colonel Troup's letter to B. Livingston, Esq., p. 8. 



1829. J Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 375 

considered it much more extravagant, to have suggested the possibility 
of a canal to the moon.'* 

" In answer to the third question I observe, that, during the years 
1791 and 1792, Mr. Watson and General Schuyler both lived in Albany, 
and were in habits of intimacy. Mr. Watson, besides delivering his 
journal and report to General Schuyler, had frequent conversations 
with him on the matters they contained. In these conversations it was 
agreed, that General Schuyler should use his exertions and influence 
in the legislature, to procure the passage of an act to incorporate a 
company for opening the navigation from the Hudson to Seneca and 
Ontario lakes. The legislature was to sit in New York, in the begin- 
ning of January, 1792 ; and Mr. Watson's zeal for the passage of the 
act carried him to New York early in the session, to unite his exertions 
and influence with those of General Schuyler. Mr. W T atson accordingly 
remained several weeks in New York ; and, while there, he afforded 
every aid in his power to promote General Schuyler's success ; and, 
after Mr. Watson's return to Albany, he made General Schuyler the 
tender of another visit to New York, on the like errand, if the General 
should think it expedient. 

" Mr. Watson's zeal, however, did not suffer him to stop here. So far 
from it, when in New York, he addressed to the legislature, through the 
medium of a city paper, a piece under the signature of ' A Citizen,'! 
in which he represented the State, from its geographical position, as en- 
joying advantages for internal intercourse much above those of her 
neighbors ; communicated substantially the information contained in 
his journal and in his report ; extolled the advantages that would prob- 
ably flow from a navigable intercourse with ■■ the great chain of lakes 
forming our north-western boundary ;' and recommended, with enthu- 
siastic ardor, the improvement of the navigation to the Seneca Lake ; 
keeping always in sight its further improvement, as soon as ; the British 
should be dispossessed of the outlet of Oswego river.' And Mr. Wat- 
son's zeal for improving the navigation continuing unabated, he once 
more pressed the subject on the notice of the legislature, with fresh and 
cogent reasons, in a piece under the signature of ' An Inland Naviga- 
tor,';); which he forwarded from Albany, and had also published in a 
New York paper. 

* See Mr. Watson's History of the Western Canals, p. 160. 

f See Appendix to Colonel Troup's letter to B. Livingston, Esq., p. 14. 

\ lb. p. 22. 



376 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1829. 

" It unfortunately happened, that a bill was brought into the Senate, 
without the concurrence of General Schuyler, the objects of which 
were the removal of obstructions in the Mohawk river, and the junc- 
tion of that river with Wood Creek ; thus appearing to relinquish the 
improvement of the navigation to the Seneca and Ontario lakes. Whilst 
this bill was laboring its progress through the Senate, Mr. Watson, then 
being at Albany, wrote a letter to General Schuyler, in which he ob- 
served, that he had not been ' inattentive to the progress of the great 
objects of the western canals, since the commencement of the legisla- 
ture ;' expressed ' much regret that no one of that body, except' the 
General, l appeared to soar beyond Fort Stanwix ; complained, ' that 
stopping at Fort Stanwix would be half doing the business ;' and de- 
clared, that i although the whole plan might not be accomplished for 
years to come, yet as the improvements on Wood Creek were indispen- 
sable to making the contemplated canal at Fort Stanwix of any value, 
the charter should stretch to Seneca Lake and the harbor of Oswego, 
as pointed out in his journal, and in conformity to his conversations 
with the General, so as to admit the commerce of the great lakes into 
Hudson river, and vice versa.' 

" Mr. Watson, in the same letter, treated the enterprise as a proper 
State object, and he expressed a firm belief, that the ' enterprise would 
succeed, if the charter be so shaped as to embrace the objects contem- 
plated by him and the General, and a term of twenty years be granted 
for the completion of the plan.' And in reply to the objection that un- 
dertaking the enterprise would be premature, Mr. Watson, in the same 
letter, avowed his settled conviction, that l the enterprise could not be 
undertaken too soon ;' and, consequently, he determined to do his ut- 
most to co-operate with the General's enlarged views of the very im- 
portant subject. 

" The ardent desire of Mr. Watson for a charter, on a scale embrac- 
ing the navigation of the Seneca and Ontario lakes, was finally grati- 
fied, by the passing of the canal Act of March, 1.792, which was the 
golden fruit of General Schuyler's eminent talents and controlling in- 
fluence. 

" General Schuyler, ever disdaining to receive honors not fairly his 
due, often acknowledged* to that excellent man and public-spirited citi- 
zen, the late Thomas Eddy, that ' the observations made by Mr. Wat- 
son, in his tour to the western part of the State, in 1791, first turned his 

* See Appendix to Colonel Troup's Letter to B. Livingston, Esq., p. 81. 



1829.] Or, Memoirs of Mkanah Watson. 377 

attention to that important object, and induced him to offer to the Sen- 
ate the Act Incorporating the Western and Northern Inland Lock Navi- 
gation Companies.' 

u The facts which I have thus detailed, will be found in Mr. Wat- 
son's ' History of the Western Canals,' published in 1820, and also in a 
letter from me, ' On the Lake Canal Policy,' addressed to the late Brock- 
hoist Livingston, Esq., one of the associate Justices of the Supreme 
Court of the United States, and published in 1822. 

" The consideration of these facts will naturally lead to the conclu- 
sion, that they form the ground on which Mr. W T atson rests his claims 
to a portion of public gratitude, for his labors to improve the inland 
navigation of the State. 

" I am much deceived, if the facts do not irresistibly show, that Mr. 
Watson's labors have been useful. Their usefulness consists, in his 
travelling to explore our western country, its lakes, rivers, and creeks, 
— in his observations on the practicability of a navigable communica- 
tion between the Hudson and the western lakes, — in his communications 
to General Schuyler, — in his concerting with the General a plan of navi- 
gation embracing the western lakes, to be submitted to the legislature, 
— and, lastly, in his unwearied pains to assist General Schuyler to ob- 
tain a preference for the concerted plan, by the passing of the canal act 
of March, 1792. 

" There can be no reasonable objection against admitting, that this 
act was the commencement of our State canal policy. Before the ex- 
istence of the act, nothing appeared in the community on the subject 
of canalling, except the different commercial speculations of individuals 
respecting it. To dignify their speculations with the title of State 
policy, would be preposterous. That the policy pursued by a State can 
only be known from the schemes adopted by its constituted authorities, 
and from the measures taken to carry such schemes into effect, is a 
position too evident to require an illustration. It was the act, therefore, 
that first gave body and life to the floating ideas about canalling, by the 
incorporation of a company to undertake the expensive and arduous en- 
terprise of opening a canal navigation, to unite the waters of the Hud- 
son with those of the western lakes, and by endowing the company 
with rights to authorize, and privileges to facilitate its successful prose- 
cution. 

" To maintain, that the act was unimportant in its consequences, 
would be to incur the censure of violating the dictates of sound sense, 
and disregarding the plain language of experience. Although the 



378 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1822. 

funds of the company incorporated were wholly inadequate to the con- 
struction of canals, calculated to promote the highest interests of the 
State ; yet the operations of the company, proceeding from the employ- 
ment of their scanty funds, considerably reduced the rates of transport- 
ation, and thereby proved not a little beneficial to trade. But the most 
important consequence of the act was, that even the limited benefits it 
produced to trade, seemed to keep the public eye fixed on the highly in- 
teresting objects of canal policy, and eventually to induce our wise and 
patriotic rulers to adopt a system of canal ling, which, from the grandeur 
of its design, and the magnanimity of its execution, has become the 
pride of the State and the admiration of the Union. 

" Allow me, dear Sir, to conclude this letter with the assurance of 
my unfeigned gratification, that it has fallen to your lot to perform the 
meritorious work in which you are engaged ; for your able, elegant, and 
impartial eulogium on the illustrious De Witt Clinton persuades me to 
believe, the work will be performed in a manner as justly entitling it to 
the praise of every unprejudiced and intelligent reader, as well of the 
present age as of posterity. 

" With the most perfect esteem, I remain, dear Sir, 
" Your humble servant, 

"Robert Troup. 

" To David Hosack, M. D." 

The first two of the succeeding letters of Mr. Adams, were 
also published in the Appendix to Dr. Hosack's 
JohnAdaTs. work, with these comments :* " In connection 
with this part of the subject, it gives me pleas- 
ure to give place to the following interesting letters from the 
late President of the United States, John Adams, to Mr. 
Watson, in the years 1822 and '23 :" 

" Qutnoy, 23$ December, 1822. 
"Dear Sir: 

" I have received and heard read Colonel Troup's letter to Judge Liv- 
ingston of the 23d January last. 

" You need not wish a more ingenious, a more spirited or able vindi- 
cation of your claims to the first suggestion of the canal policy in New 
York, and of General Schuyler's sagacious patriotism in adopting and 

* Hosack's Memoirs of Clinton, p. 297. 



i822.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 379 

supporting your ideas in the legislature. You both have great merit, 
but still I think Mr. Clinton has also great merit in supporting your 
plan. It is right, to preserve the memory of the first discoverers and 
inventors of useful improvements for the amelioration of the condition 
of mankind. 

" The gentlemen who were my contemporaries at Philadelphia used 
to say, that the first discovery of the efficiency of lightning rods, was 
Ebenezer Kennesley, a young gentleman of an ardent thirst for science, 
who drew lightning from the clouds, by his iron pointed kites, before 
Dr. Franklin had attempted any thing on the subject. 

" Why, indeed, may we not say, that this discovery was made in the 
reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius, for in his reign the astronomical 
and astrological poet Manilius wrote these lines, ' eripuit Jovi fulmen, 
viresque tonandi V Yet all this in no degree diminishes the great merit 
of Dr. Franklin, in maturing, digesting, and propagating to the world 
his system of lightning rods. 

" It would be well to ascertain, if it were possible, the first discoverer 
of the invaluable power of steam. While we should do honor to his 
memory, we should not withhold our admiration and gratitude from the 
great Fulton, whose steam navigation will be of greater benefit to man- 
kind than Franklin's philosophy, although that is very great. While I 
wish to do honor to these great men, I ought to bear testimony to the 
merit of your long exertions, which, I think, have been very useful to 
our country. 

" With much pleasure I repeat the assurance of the long and contin- 
ued esteem and affection of your friend and humble servant. 

11 John Adams." 



" Qtjtncy, 28th February, 1822. 
* My dear Friend : 

" I thank you for your letter of the 12th instant, and for Judge Troup's 
letter. 

" I am very much obliged to him for his civility to me, as well as for 
his testimonies in honor of your meritorious services for the public good. 

" Your active life has been employed, so far as I have known the his- 
tory of it, in promoting useful knowledge and useful arts ; for which I 
hope you have received, or will receive, a due reward. Shafts are 
wanton sports, and secret and public malice are common to you and all 
men, who distinguish themselves. 



380 Men and Times of the Revolution. [1822. 

'Envy doth merit, as its shade, pursue, 
And, like the shadow, prove its substance true/ 

" This, or something more sublime, must be the consolation of us all. 
"Your friend (by proxy), 

" John Adams. 
" Elkanah Watson, Esq., Albany." 



Extract of a letter from John Adams to Elkanah Watson. 

" Qttincy, Montezillo, 29ta March, 1822. 
" Dear Sir : 

" I have received your favor of the 17th inst. You may do what you 
please with my letter of the 23d December. * ******* 
It would give me great pleasure to peruse all your publications, and to 
correspond with you on the subject of them, but I can read nothing, and 
scarcely write the name of 

" Your friend, 

" John Adams." 



" Quincy, Zlst December, 1822. 

" Sir : — I have received your letter of the 26th. With my blind eyes 
and palsied hands, 

" Tantas componere lites non possum." 

" I am, with usual regards, etc. 

" John Adams. 
"Elkanah Watson, Esq." 




Chancellor Livingston's Sheep-shearing. Page 394. 



CHAPTEK XV 



Popular feeling was strongly excited, in the years '91 and 
*92, by imputations upon the proceedings of the Board of 
Commissioners of the Land Office, in their management of the 
vast public domain of the State. The facts 
upon which these animadversions were based, Commissioners 

r , , J1 . 7 of the Land 

or their justice, it is not necessary at this re- office. 
mote day to investigate. Mr. Watson assailed 
their measures with great severity, in a series of articles under 
the signature of " A Northern" Sentinel," which were very 
extensively published, and which appear, from the ample 
evidence before me, to have excited very general attention. 
General Schuyler sympathized with these views ; and an in- 
timate intercourse, political and personal, was formed between 



382 Men and Times of the Revolution ; [1792. 

him and Mr. Watson, which was subsequently cemented, by 
their combined labor in the promotion of the canal policy of 
the State, and the procuring of the charter of the Albany 
Bank. 

A difference and conflict of opinion, as directors in the 
Canal companies, afterwards produced a coldness and aliena- 
tion between them ; but, the deep reverence of Mr. Watson 
for the great talent, the self-sacrificing patriotism, and the 
eminent services of General Schuyler to his country, was never 
diminished. He refers to him in the following language : 

" General Schuyler possessed the highest order of talents, 

but without varied scholastic attainments. He 

Character of was a profound mathematician, and held a 

General « -, ■> . . -, -, -. 

Schuyler. powerful pen ; his industry was unexampled ; 

his business habits were accurate and system- 
atic, acquired under the discipline of General Bradstreet of 
the British Army, who was a distinguished friend of his 
family. Having extensively travelled, and mingled with the 
first circles of society, he was eminently refined in his senti- 
ments, and elegant in his address. 

" Had Providence blessed Philip Schuyler with the equa- 
nimity of mind and self-control which distinguished Wash- 
ington, he would have been his equal, in all the elevated 
moral and military attributes of his character. America 
owed to Schuyler a vast debt of gratitude, for his distin- 
guished services both in the cabinet and in the field. It was 
said, and probably with good reason, that he was of material 
assistance to the great Hamilton, who was his son-in-law, in 

framing that magnificent financial system, by 
HaimitoD. and which the loose floating paper currency of the 

government was funded ; thus educing order 
and system from chaos, and forming, by the magic of genius, 
an active capital out of the onerous and apparently crushing 
debt of our Independence. 



1792.] Or, Memoirs of Elhandh Watson. 383 

" To the consummate strategic skill, and the wise Fabian 
policy, of Schuyler, we were indebted for the conquest of 
Burgoyne. At the moment in which he was about to reap 
the fruits of his sacrifices and labors, he was superseded. 
When the laurels he had so well earned were almost within 
his grasp, they were cruelly wrested from him. He was sac- 
rificed by a spirit of intrigue and insubordination in his 
army, cherished, probably, by the mutual ani- 
mosity which existed between him and the men krlty? p0pll ~ 
of New England. The idea generally pre- 
vailed in those States, that Schuyler fostered a hereditary 
prejudice against them, while the stern and arbitrary meas- 
ures which at times marked his military career, and had 
probably been imbibed in the discipline of the British Army, 
did violence to their sentiments of equality and independence. 
Philip Schuyler was a pure and devoted patriot, and a great 
man ; and, although my enemy in his closing years, I freely 
record my homage of admiration and gratitude. His influ- 
ence and abilities enforced the passage of the Canal Act of 
'92." 

Although out of the chronological arrangement, I will here 
introduce, from Mr. Watson's Sketch Book, a notice of an- 
other general of the Eevolution, which contains some in- 
teresting reminiscences. 

"James Mitchell Yarnum was appointed a Brigadier- 
General, in the Rhode Island line, at an early 
period of the Revolution. He resided in East 
Greenwich, and was one of the most eminent lawyers and 
distinguished orators in the colonies. 

" I first saw this learned and amiable man, in 1774, when I 
heard him deliver a Masonic oration. Until that moment, I 
had formed no conception of the power and charms of ora- 
tory. I was so deeply impressed, that the effect of his splen- 
did exhibition has remained for forty-eight years indelibly 



384 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1792. 

impressed upon my memory. I then compared his mind to 
a beautiful parterre, from which he was enabled to pluck the 
most gorgeous and fanciful flowers, in his progress, to enrich 
and embellish his subject. Lavater would have pronounced 
him an orator, from the vivid flashing of his eye, and the 
delicate beauty of his classic mouth. 

"He marched into Providence, with his company, on the 
evening of the 20th of April, 77, on his way to Lexington.* 
Greene and Varnum were soon after appointed brigadiers, 

and were attached to the army besieging Bos- 
Varnum! n ^ on - Varnum continued several years in the 

army, and saw some service : he was a good 
disciplinarian, and invaluable in council. He held an excel- 
lent pen, commanding a rich flow of eloquence and beauty ; 
embellished with all the ornaments and grace of rhetoric. 

"Whilst in command at Taunton, he addressed an admi- 
rable letter to the commanding officer of the Hessians on 
Ehode Island, and sent it in by a flag. The letter was a 
transcript of his views on the great controversy with Eng- 
land, and was considered an able argument on the subject. 

It was subsequently published in England, and 
GoodwTn? nd reflected much credit on the author. At the 

close of his military career, he resumed his 
profession, and often came in conflict with Henry Good- 



* I have stated in an early page, that General Greene entered Providence 
at the same time, in command of a company. Colonel Ephraim Bowen, who 
was a member of the Cadet Company with me, and whom I have already 
quoted in a note, in an account of the " Gaspee" affair, — assured me, Octo- 
ber, 1821, that I am in error in identifying Nathaniel Greene with the Cap- 
tain Green who commanded the Warwich Greens ; and that although Gen- 
eral Greene marched into Providence on that occasion, it . «s as a private in 
Captain Varnum's Company, and while he still held his connection with the 
Quaker Society. These concurrences of names and circumstances may have 
created a mistake. After General Greene had acquired his subsequent ce- 
lebrity, I heard the fact, as I have represented it, often referred to. 



1792.] Or j Memoirs of ETkanah Watson. 385 

win, his great rival in eloquence, but of a totally distinct 
school. While Varnum's oratory was mild and conciliatory, 
and flowing in majestic and persuasive eloquence, Goodwin's 
was wrapt in fire and energy, mingled with the most burning 
sarcasm. 

" In the year 1785, General Yarnum formed the project of 
establishing a colony on the north branch of the Ohio river, 
and of erecting a city at the mouth of the 
Muskingum. He urged me to unite in the cXny!' S 

adventure. He carried out his design, and 
founded Marietta, which he named in honor of the Queen of 
France. After my return from North Carolina, in 1788, I 
was present, when his wife received a letter, full of pathos 
and sensibility, and deeply impressive in some 
respects. She allowed me, as the intimate §s*wife Grt0 
friend of her husband, to read it. It subse- 
quently found its way into the newspapers. The following 
extract, is worthy of preservation : 

" Marietta, 18^ December, 1788. 
" My dearest Friend : 

• " I now write you from my sick chamber,— perhaps it will be the last 
letter you will ever receive from me. I expect to leave this, on Sunday 
next, for the Falls of the Ohio ; thence to New Orleans and the West 
Indies, to seek a warmer climate, the only chance of my recovery. My 
physician thinks the chance of recovery in my favor. I am neither ele- 
vated nor depressed by the force of this opinion ; and will indulge a 
hope, that I shall once more embrace my lovely friend in this world ; 
and that we may glide smoothly down the tide of time, for a few years 
more, and mutually enjoy the more substantial happiness, as we have 
already the desirable pleasures of life. 

" But, my lovely friend, the gloomy moment will arrive, when we 
must part ; should it happen during our present separation, my last, and 
my only reluctant thought, will be employed about you. 

" Life is but a bubble : it soon bursts, and is remitted to eternity. 
When we look back to the earliest recollections of our youthful hours, 
it seems but the last period of our rest, and we appear to emerge from 
17 



386 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1792. 

a night of slumber, to look forward to real existence. When we look 
forward, time appears as interminable as eternity, and we have no idea 
of its termination, but by the period of our dissolution. What particu- 
lar connection it bears to a future state, our general notions of religion 
cannot point out. We feel something constantly active within us, 
which is evidently beyond the reach of mortality ; whether it be part 
of ourselves, or an emanation from the Great Source of all existence, 
or re-absorbed when death shall have finished his work, human wisdom 
cannot determine. Whether the demolition of our body introduces 
only a change in the manner of our being, and leaves us to progress, 
infinitely, alternately elevated or depressed, according to the propriety 
of our conduct, — or whether we return to the mass of unthinking mat- 
ter, philosophy hesitates to decide. 

" I know, therefore, but one source whence can be derived complete 
consolation in a dying hour ; and that is, the divine system contained in 
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There, life and immortality are brought to 
light ; there, we are taught that our existence is to be eternal ; and, se- 
cure of an interest in the atoning mercies of a bleeding Saviour, that 
we shall be inconceivably happy. 

" A firm, unshaken faith in this doctrine, must raise us above the 
doubts and fears that hang upon every other system, and enable us to 
view with calm serenity the approach of the King of terrors ; and be- 
hold him as a kind, indulgent friend, spending his shafts, only to carry 
us sooner to our everlasting home. 

"Should there yet be a more extensive religion beyond the veil, the 
Christian religion is by no means shaken thereby, as it is not opposed to 
any principle that admits the perfect benevolence of the Deity. I hope 
and pray, the Divine Spirit will give me such assurance of an accept- 
ance with God, through the death and sufferings of His Son, as to 
brighten the way to immediate happiness. 

" Dry up your tears, my charming mourner ; nor suffer this letter to 
give you much inquietude. Consider the facts, at present, as in theory ; 
but, the sentiments, such as will apply whenever the great change shall 
come. Give my sincere love to all those you hold dear. Adieu ! my 
dearest friend ; and while I fervently devote, in one undivided prayer, 
our immortal souls to the care, forgiveness, mercy, and all prevailing 
grace of Heaven, in time and through eternity, I must now bid you, — 
a long, — long, — long farewell. 

"James M. Varnum." 



1792. J Or j Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 387 

" General Yarnum died a few days after the date of this 
letter, at the Falls of the Ohio. I knew that he 
had indulged, to a degree, skeptical and philo- 
sophical opinions ; hence the great additional value of this 
mature effusion of his most secret soul, on a dying bed. For 
this reason, I have introduced his sentiments. They exerted 
a benign influence upon my own mind, and I earnestly trust 
they may be equally useful to others." 

Talleyrand's residence for a short period in this country, 
during his exile, in a condition of indigence and 

-. . & . . ' . „ TT . . & Talleyrand. 

destitution, is a historic fact. His circumstances 

and position are somewhat illustrated by trivial incidents, 

which have been noticed in the manuscripts of Mr. Watson : 

"In the years 1794 and '95, I resided in the northern 
suburbs of Albany, then known as the Colonie. Monsieur 
Le Contaulx, formerly of Paris, a very amiable man, was my 
opposite neighbor. His residence was the resort of the French 
emigrants. During that period, Count Latour 
Dupin, a distinguished French noble, made a French 
hair-breadth escape from Bordeaux, with his Dup?n? n 
elegant and accomplished wife, the daughter of 
Count Dillon. They were concealed in that city, for six 
terrible weeks, during the sanguinary atrocities of Tallien, 
and arrived at Boston with two trunks of fine towels, contain- 
ing several hundred in each; the only property they had 
been able to save from the wreck of an immense estate. They 
came to Albany, and brought me a letter of introduction from 
Thomas Russell, an eminent merchant of Boston. Soon after, 
they purchased a little farm, upon an eminence nearly opposite 
Troy. 

" Here they were joined by Talleyrand, who had arrived 
about the same time in Albany ; also, an exile, and in want. 
I became intimate with them, from these circumstances, and 
from my familiarity with their country and my knowledge 



388 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1792. 

of the French language. They avowed their poverty, and 
resided together on the little farm, suffering severe privations, 
bringing to Albany the surplus produce of their land, and 
habitually stopping with their butter and eggs at my door. 
They yielded with a good grace to their humiliating con- 
dition. 

" In the winter following, I was surrounded in my office 
by a group of distinguished Frenchmen : the Count, Talley- 
rand, Volney, the philosophical writer and trav- 
m^VoinejT ell er > Monsieur Pharoux, a very learned man, 
Pharoux, an( j Desjardins, a former Chamberlain of Louis 

Desjardins. JL _ 

XVI. They considered me a Frenchman at 
heart, and appeared to forget that I was an American, jealous 
of the rights, liberties and honor of my country. Their re- 
marks were often revolting to my sentiments and national 
pride. Sympathy and compassion for their fallen estate, con- 
strained me to endure this language, although they did not 
hesitate to avow their detestation of American institutions, 
and their disgust at our manners and habits. 

" On the occasion referred to, after having indulged in this 
train of remark, and speculating upon the posture of Eu- 
ropean affairs, Desjardins at length turning to me, exclaimed, 
'Yes, my friend, before this war,' — the war waged by des- 
potism against republican principles, — ' shall end, your frontier 
will be lined with French bayonets.' To this sentiment they 
all seemed to respond in acquiescence. My 
£nce! th American blood was excited beyond forbear- 

ance, and I replied, l God grant, if so, that the 
invaders may be repelled at the threshold, or exterminated to 
a man.' Here we were at issue, and our social intercourse 
terminated. 

" Soon after this, Talleyrand was swaying a potent influence 
in the councils of France. Whether these hostile sentiments 
were infused into the Directory, I have no knowledge ; but 



1 792.] Or, Memoirs of fflkandh Watson. 389 

it is certain, when our three Envoys were literally supplicating 
for peace, at the footstool of this power, they were received 
with an arrogance and intolerance, that insulted the dignity, 
and trampled contemptuously upon the independence, of a free 
nation. This, however, was the extreme point of our degrada- 
tion. Adams was found a lion in the path of these aggres- 
sions. An open war ensued, in which our infant Navy, the 
child of his own creation, gloriously sustained the honor of 
our flag, and our national rights. Truxton, in the * Con- 
stellation,' captured a French frigate of equal 
size, and repelled the attack of a second. Trux> TmxTo°n.° re 
ton against France, was the language of the day; 
for he performed alone, in his gallant ship, all the fighting. 
The French Government retracted, and an honorable peace 
was consummated." 

During the period of several succeeding years, Mr. Watson 
was chiefly engaged in private avocations ; but his mind and 
pen were, with his accustomed ardor and activity, occupied 
in the advancement of various projects of social and public 
improvement. Free-schools, turnpike roads, — 
two of which he urged with unwonted earnest- Social and 
ness: one, it was proposed, should be con- improvements, 
structed on the margin of the Hudson, between 
New York and Albany, and another from the latter place to 
Schenectady, — the creation of avenues into the new territories, 
both north and west, which were just opening to emigration, 
by roads to be constructed by the State, and the adoption of 
a State-prison system, were among the subjects which he 
pressed upon the public attention. Yoluminous essays, on 
all these and on other interesting and important topics, are 
embraced in his common-place book. The incorporation of 
the " State Bank" at Albany, was a scheme conceived by his 
mind, and obtained principally through his ardent and un- 
tiring exertions. 



390 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1794. 

In the promotion of these objects, he was brought into inti- 
mate association with many of the conspicuous men of the 
State. An intercourse with Chancellor Livingston was thus 
formed, which continued in a close intimacy, to 
LiWngtoii! ^e termination of his patriotic career. In the 

correspondence of Chancellor Livingston, is in- 
cluded a letter, written at Paris, the 25th day of June, 1803, 
which is of much interest, as it presents, in a free communi- 
cation of friendship, his own views of his services, and his 
connection with the achievement of the treaty of Louisiana ; 
and may be regarded as shedding light on that much con- 
troverted question. Mr. Watson remarks : 

" My first acquaintance with this celebrated and excellent 
person, was in April, '92. I had devoted myself, with un- 
usual zeal, to effecting the preliminaries to the organization 
of the Albany Bank : resisting strong prejudice, and combat- 
ing gross ignorance. The organization being accomplished, 
the next step was to secure the incorporation. This was com- 
mitted to the powerful influence and talents of General 
Schuyler, who, by the most vigorous efforts, forced it through 
both houses of the Legislature. At his request, I went to 
New York, and found that the bill was suspended in the 
Council of Eevision. The General pressed me, with great 
earnestness, to exert myself, as eight of the ten constitutional 
days for its return had already passed, and he feared an ad- 
verse decision. I labored until a late hour that night, with 
my uncle, Judge Hobart, who was one of the council ; and I 
succeeded in satisfying him of the justice and propriety of the 
measure. 

"The next morning, I was introduced to Chancellor Liv- 
ingston, by my old travelling companion of the preceding 
year, Mr. Bayard. The Chancellor stated his objections, and, 
as he remarked, ' I was fortunate in removing them. 7 About 
noon of the same day, I was in the Senate Chamber of the 



r 79 3 J Or, Memoirs of Mkanah Watson. - 391 

old City Hall, when the Chancellor tapped me on the shoulder 
with the bill in his hand, saying, ' Your Bank is incorporated.' 
" The second occasion which promoted our intercourse, will 
be explained by the subjoined letter. I had made great exer- 
tion, the winter previous, to promote a subscription for creat- 
ing a fund to encourage the increase and im- 
provement in the manufacture of maple sugar ; Mapie^uga^ 
and to obtain legislative aid to the important 
object. The letter of Chancellor Livingston will present his 
views and co-operation on the subject. 

" New Yoek, lQlh February, 1793. 

u Sir : — On the receipt of your letter, with the sample of maple 
sugar, I called together the Agricultural Society, who readily agreed to 
give every possible support to your petition. A committee was ap- 
pointed to form a memorial on that subject; but this committee not 
meeting so early as I wished, I wrote to the Speaker, enclosing your rep- 
resentations, and urging the Legislature, in the strongest terms, to take 
up the business: which they accordingly did, and appointed a com- 
mittee, who, after conferring with the Agricultural Society, reported in 
favor of a bounty, as Mr. Ten Brook has informed you. It has, how- 
ever, met with such opposition since, that I am satisfied, to my great 
regret, that it will not go through this session. Nothing however, shall 
be wanting on my part, to give it success, since I am fully satisfied of 
the importance of the object. 

" The success which your patriotic exertions, and those of the gentle- 
men connected with you, have met with, in improving the quality of the 
sugar, shows the importance of this object in a very strong point of 
view, and appeared to have made a very good impression upon a num- 
ber of gentlemen, who had hitherto considered the whole a visionary 
business. 

" I am, Sir, your most obedient and humble servant, 

"Robert R. Livingston. 

" Mr. Elkanah Watson." 



" I received from him the folio wins; letter His Letter 

-r* • t - • n respecting 

whilst m Paris, relative to the negotiation for Louisiana. 



392 Men and Times of the Revolution; [i8o3. 

the cession of Louisiana, within two months after the treaty- 
was signed : 

"Paris, 26th Jtme, 1808. 

" Dear Sir : — I received your favor of the 4th of August, a very long 
time after it was written ; and the necessity of making the inquiries you 
wished, delayed my answer, till the active turn my negotiations took 
here, on the subject of the American claims and Louisiana, and discus- 
sions on the subject of the war, to which I was obliged to give the 
closest attention, in order to be well informed, and avail myself of cir- 
cumstances as they arose, put almost every private concern out of my 
mind. I have, however, made the necessary inquiries. The sample 
you sent me is of that pure species of gypsum, from which many works 
of ornament are made, which is commonly called alabaster. It is only 
valuable where it can be found in very large blocks, and perfectly free 
from stains or fissures ; and even then would be of little worth, ex- 
cept in countries where it would he worked to advantage. Your hill 
has a better and more confirmed value, in being a source of manure to 
all the country in its vicinity. 

" I am very sorry, that you cannot gratify your wishes, and spend 
some more of your time in Paris, which you would find very much im- 
proved. The First Consul has given great attention to this object, and, 
independent of the immense collections of pictures, statues, books, 
natural history, etc., the city itself is improved. Old buildings that 
masked stately edifices, are pulled down ; and works undertaken, that 
the Bourbons did not dare to venture upon. All the houses in front of 
the Tuileries are pulled down, so as to enlarge the square, and show a 
great part of that immense building. The two streets, with all their 
houses on the north of the Tuileries are also prostrated, so as to open a 
grand passage all round the gardens upon a line with the royal garde- 
robe. The river Ourcq is on its way to Paris, and will afford a full sup- 
ply for use and ornament. Numberless improvements are projected ; 
and money is found for effecting them, notwithstanding the war, which, ' 
as you have learned, has begun with very great acrimony and serious 
fears on the part of Britain of an invasion, as serious preparations are 
making here for it. 

" I do not know what the sentiments of a party among you may be, 
relative to the American Government, but it is certain its reputation 
never stood so high as at present in Europe ; and my success in getting 
our debts paid, and our purchase of Louisiana, have been considered as 



i8o3.] Or, Memoirs of Mkanah Watson. 393 

master strokes of diplomatic success, — a success, which was very much 
forwarded by the firm attitude the government took in the business of 
New Orleans, and a conviction of our resources for war, drawn from 
the President's speeches and reports of the treasury. I was happy 
enough to have, as you have learned, attained early in the month of 
March, a personal assurance from the First Consul himself, that our 
claims should be promptly and fully paid ; and as it was impossible to 
go back from this, and the approach of a war made it difficult to find 
money, this proved a trump card in bringing them to agree to cede 
Louisiana, which the First Consul announced to his council, after some 
very pressing notes of mine on the subject, suggesting the 8th of April. 
They called on me to offer my terms on the 10th. On the evening of the 
12th, Mr. Monroe arrived, when the great difficulty, — the reluctance to 
sell, — having been previously got over, nothing remained for our joint 
operations but to fvn the price. This I flatter myself will not appear 
unreasonable to my countrymen, who know how to estimate the in- 
creasing consequence of that country. 

" Having thus effected the great object of my mission, I look anxiously 
toward my native home, which still has more charms for me than even 
this fascinating city. I flatter myself with the hope of seeing you, 
next spring or summer, and pray you to believe that I recollect you and 
my other friends with you, with sufficient pleasure to be anxious to be 
with you again. I pray you to offer my compliments to the Governor, 
Lieutenant-Governor, Messieurs Van Rensselaer, Yates, Taylor, etc. 
" I am, dear Sir, with much esteem, 

" Your most obedient humble servant, 

" Robert R. Livingston. 

"Elkanah Watson, Esq." 

11 At the time of his return from France, I was in the fall 
tide of my agricultural operations in Pittsfield. He had, 
previous to that time, introduced some very superior Merino 
sheep, of the Kambouillet flock, from France. 
We were thus drawn together, by our conge- 
niality of sentiments and pursuits in agriculture and the arts, 
and we often reciprocated visits. I spent some days with 
him in 1808, at his princely seat upon the Hudson, where he 
was enjoying a dignified and refined retirement. From his 
17* 



394 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1829. 

flock I selected the animals which I brought into Berkshire 
county. 

"In 1810, I attended his famous sheep-shearing, which at- 
tracted much attention, and acquired subse- 
lesUvd hearmg quently great newspaper notoriety. Men of 
great eminence, from various sections of the 
country, were present ; and among them Colonel Humphreys, 
Dr. Mitchill, and Mr. Muller, a German gentleman. The 
large company was entertained with the most elegant and 
sumptuous hospitality. At a public sale on this occasion, 
sheep were bought with great avidity, at prices varying from 
fifty to one thousand dollars. Although these rates appear 
so exorbitant, there was an animated competition, and there 
were some earnest disputes for securing the purchase of select 
animals. The astonishing inflation in the ideal value of 
sheep, which this mania created for a few years, and the de- 
pression which ensued after the bubble had burst, will be 
exemplified by a single fact. I purchased a beautiful buck 
of the Chancellor, at a hundred and seventy-five dollars, for 
which I repeatedly refused one thousand dollars, I sold 
him, afterward, for twelve dollars. Dr. Mitchill produced a 
brilliant description of the festival, and, always classical and 
erudite, gave as a toast, ' The modern Argonautic expedition, 
whereby our Jason has enriched his country with the invalua- 
ble treasure of the golden fleece.' 

" Chancellor Livingston and Colonel Humphreys disputed 

the merit of having first introduced the Merino 

Hum P g hreys? nd sheep into the United States. The former 

claimed, that he brought them from France; 

and the latter, that he had sent them from Spain, whilst 

Minister at that Court, by the way of Portugal. 

" David Humphreys was a brilliant writer, had been aid- 
de-camp to Washington, and was a zealous promoter of agri- 
culture and the arts. As the relative merits of the flocks 



1 809.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 395 

of Livingston and Humphreys is yet among wool-growers a 

subject of discussion, I will insert a letter 

from him, when the controversy was at its GeSerai r ° m 

height. Humphreys. 

" Humphreys ville, l%th September, 1809. 
"Elkanah Watson, Esq., Pittsfield, Mass. : 

" Dear Sir : — It is with extreme regret I am not able to comply 
with your wishes, in furnishing the information you seek in relation to 
the establishing the manufactory of woollens in your place. To speak 
generally, I sincerely hope the time has arrived, when we can calculate 
on better prospects in the establishment of this important branch in our 
country than heretofore, which must be naturally inferred, when I have 
invested a great share of my means in such an establishment in this 
village. There are many and great difficulties to be encountered, — the 
price of labor, want of skill, and cheapness of land, which will mate- 
rially affect our cotton as well as woollen establishments. Your pro- 
posed capital is respectable, and I heartily wish you success. There is 
no doubt but fine wool may shortly be supplied by our own flocks. I 
understand, some invidious observations have lately been published in 
Pittsfield, in comparing the breed of sheep brought by Chancellor Liv- 
ingston from France, with the Merinos brought by me from Spain. All 
I shall say is, the excellencies or defects of the breeds or their wool must 
be decided by experience. It is also insinuated without truth, that mine 
are not as select and genuine as his, because they came from flocks in 
Spain. It is unfortunate, that there should be attempts to produce par- 
ties in manufactures as well as in politics. 

" The sample of your cloth is a handsome specimen, does great credit 
to your efforts, and offers a sure guarantee as to the future. 

" I am, with great respect, 

" D. Humphreys." 

The following extract from a letter of Chancellor Living- 
ston, dated June the 12th, 1808, exhibits his own views of 
his agency in the introduction of these sheep, and an estima- 
tion of the character and value of his flock : 

u On the subject of Spanish sheep, I have little to offer but what you 
have already seen. I am indeed employing my leisure moments on the 



396 Men and Times of the Revolution ; [1809. 

natural history of sheep, which will take a general view of the different 
breeds of them, etc. ; but I know not whether I shall think it of suffi- 
cient moment to commit it to the press, or whether my other avocations, 
— for though out of public life I am not an idle man, — will permit me to 
finish it. I have lately received a very fine ram from France, and send 
you enclosed a sample of his wool, for the inspection of your Society. I 
think I can boast of a finer Merino flock than any other country can 
show, having had an opportunity of selecting them myself from the 
finest flocks in Europe. The Merinos are generally small and ill made. 
Mine have, by great attention in the selection of the breeders, by those 
that had the care of the national flock in France, and by my selection 
out of that flock myself, improved both in their form and size, without 
any change in the quality of the wool. I also send you a sample of the 
Arlington wool, of which you have seen much in the papers. It was 
sent me by Mr. Custis, the proprietor of Arlington and Smith's Island. 
Be pleased to give me your opinion of this wool, and the uses to which 
it may be applicable." 

"The Chancellor and Judge Peters of Philadelphia also 
contested the merit of first promulgating, in 
wadpltCTs. this country, a knowledge of the value of gyp- 

sum, as a fertilizing ingredient in agriculture. 
" Chancellor Livingston, it is well-known, claimed, in con- 
junction with Fulton, the great fame of apply- 
andMton. i n § steam as a propelling power in navigation. 
These assumptions have been widely and severe- 
ly controverted. I regard the fact as incontestible, that the 
means and science of the Chancellor, combined with the 
genius of Fulton, matured and perfected the system, and 
reduced it to practical utility. I recollect, when they applied 
for a charter of their association for steamboat navigation, the 
idea prevailed, that they proposed to apply the power to a 
common boat, in the ordinary acceptation of the term, and 
that the project was regarded with ridicule and laughter. 
The Legislature would have granted them, without hesita- 
tion, the exclusive right they asked, for one hundred years. 
" The Chancellor was a very useful and benevolent man, a 



1809.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 397 

scholar of profound erudition, an ardent patriot, and a prompt 
and decided promoter of all the essential in- 
terests of the country. His name should be uv™gtZ£? 
cherished, as that of one of her best benefac- 
tors ; and may his memory long live in the gratitude of his 
country. 

" Mr. Muller, the German gentleman referred to, was a per- 
son of rare acquirements, and of great wealth, and had then 
established extensive manufactories at Pitts- 
burg. He possessed singular musical talents, f Pittsburg, 
and was perhaps the only person who had the 
power of extracting from the common Jews-harp the most 
exquisite and delicate music. He used small 
golden instruments, and occasionally performed Mulfo Harp 
on two at the same time, placing one in each 
corner of the mouth ; and he would delight, by his brilliant 
performances, the most refined circles." 

A correspondence occurred between Mr. Adams and Mr. 
Watson, in the year 1797, which refers to an eventful epoch 
in the life of the former, and contained, prob- 
ably, the earliest intimation he received, that ^thM^Adaml 
a disaffected, or rather adverse, sentiment ex- 
isted in the highest ranks of his own party, which soon after 
became widely diffused. 

To John Adams, President of the United States, 

" Albany, 5th March^ 1797. 

" Sir : — It is now nearly seventeen years since I was first honored 
with your paternal letter, when a student at the College of Ancenis, 
in France. Since that time, I have ventured to address you on vari- 
ous subjects, and I have never ceased to admire the independence of 
your mind, and your stern republican virtues. 

" Your recent elevation to the first place in the power of a grateful 
country to bestow, elevates you to a rank, in my mind, vastly more 
dignified than that of hereditary kings and emperors in Europe. 



398 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1797. 

" To you, Sir, I shall not dare to offer adulation ; but I cannot repress 
the expression of an impulse, stimulated by gratitude and affection, 
which flows warm and undisguised from my heart to my pen. 

'* I am the more gratified, inasmuch as I know, that some leading 
characters in this State are disappointed and chagrined at your election, 
although they have the hypocrisy to palm themselves off as your 
friends. The secret cause of this feeling which rankles in their heart, 
is the known independence of your mind, and the apprehension that 
they cannot mould you to their party purposes. 

" May you long live, to honor, and to shed additional lustre upon 
America, is the ardent prayer of your respectful friend, 

" Elkanah Watson." 



answer. 

" Philadelphia, 11th March, 1797. 

" Sir : — I received with pleasure your polite note of the 5th instant, 
and thank you for your kind compliments. 

" I am very much disposed to think, that you have been misinformed 
respecting some leading characters in the State of New York. If they 
have been ' disappointed,' it was in the election of the Vice President, 
not mine, and that by no means on the ground ' of the known indepen- 
dence of my mind.' 

" Inclosed is a poem, full of flattery to me ; but it is exquisite poetry. 
I have heard it was written by a Mr. Bacon, of Albany, or its vicinity, 
formerly of Brookline, Massachusetts. I send you the poem, and desire 
you to let me know if there is such a person in your neighborhood, and 
what is his character. I am, etc. 

44 John Adams. 

" Elkanah Watson, Esq., Albany. 

" P. S. I think it more likely you wrote it. Tell me." 



To John Adams, President of the United States, 

" Albany, 1st April, 1797. 

" Sir : — I am honored by your favor of the 17th ultimo. I have had 
cause to regret the hint 1 gave in my last letter to you. 

" It is now incumbent on me to remove your doubts, and to develop 
the facts to which I alluded, and which I request may be considered 
confidential. 

" The evening of the date of my letter to you of the 5th ultimo, I spent 



I 797-J Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 399 

with Chancellor Livingston. He stated to me that Hamilton, Schuyler, 
etc., were the disappointed persons to whom I alluded, on the result of 
your election to the chief magistracy of the nation. The ensuing day, 
that gentleman dined at my house, with a large company. General 
Schuyler, and Judge Hobart of the Supreme Court, were present. 

" The Judge and Chancellor, at opposite points in politics, became 
extremely warm, and indecorously personal, at my table, on the same 
subject. The Judge admitted the fact, but qualified it in this manner, — 
that Hamilton had said, in his presence, that Mr. Pinckney would, 
under all circumstances, have been the most proper character for Presi- 
dent, because he was a new man, and would not draw in his train the 
spirit of party. A curious assertion, truly, for the most decided party 
leader in America ! 

" I have ascertained, that the poem you enclosed to me, was written 
by Mr. Honeywood, a lawyer residing at Salem, in this State, — a poet 
and painter from his mother's womb, — as singular in his person as Pope, 
although not so much deformed, and, altogether, an amiable and worthy 
man.* You natter my vanity, Sir, by supposing me the author of that 



* Mr. Honeywood, although almost forgotten now, held a conspicuous 
position, about the close of the last century, among American Poets. He 
published several poems, of much beauty. He united, in rare combination, 
the genius of a painter with that of the poet. 

The painting referred to in the subjoined letter, is still in preservation; 
and, although in miniature, is an exquisite delineation of the paraphernalia, 
of the Roman Forum, the robes of the decemviri, and the lictors, with their 
fasces and the costumes of the people. The letter of Mr. Honeywood, ex- 
hibits his native character of modest and almost diffident unobtrusiveness. 



" Dear Sir : — I have always been gratified, on receiving the attention of gentlemen of 
taste, and can say, without compliment, that the politeness of Mr. Watson is particularly 
flattering. 

"You will excuse me, Sir, for begging your acceptance of a drawing which I executed 
some years ago. Bad as the execution may be, you will possibly recollect, in my imperfect 
traits, the death of Virginia, so celebrated in Roman History. I have not the vanity, Sir, 
to suppose, that it is deserving of your attention, unless it be considered as the production 
of a person to whose merits you have been too partial. 

" You will present my compliments to Mrs. Watson, to whom I cannot be unknown, from 
the trouble I have given her by calling, several times, at your house, while in town. 
" I am, Sir, with great^esteem, 

" Your most obedient servant, 

" S. J. Honeywood." 
" Salem, Washington County, July 23d, 1794." 



400 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1797. 

elegant poem. To be frank on that head, I could never make two lines 
jingle in rhyme. 

u Your letter to me, with so large an enclosure, and coming so directly 
on the heels of your election, has given rise to some laughable inci- 
dents ; and as you always allow me to write and speak to you freely, I 
will tell you the story, in a few words. 

" The publication of my Tour in Holland in 1784, had familiarized 
people in this quarter with your kindness to me, in various parts of 
Europe, especially at the Hague ; that queen of cities, as to beauty and 
elegance. 

" This fact, in connection with the appearance of a formidable packet 
at the post-office, franked by the President of the United States, coming 
at the commencement of his administration, stirred up a report, that I 
had received a foreign appointment, although I had not yet broken the 
seal of the packet. Unfortunately for my fc amour propre,' the place 
designated was the court of Algiers. 

" While the report was in brisk circulation, I happened to drop into 
the Senate Chamber, and was hailed by all the Senators as the Algerine 
Ambassador. 

" It was in vain to deny ; some had seen the letter, others your com- 
mission, although no mortal being, but my good wife, had seen the in- 
side of your letter. 

"What an important charge is committed to your hands! What 
a solemn crisis ! Peace or war with France, and half of Europe, is now, 
in some measure, committed to your hands, 

" With great respect, etc. 

" Elkanah Watson." 

" It is worthy of remark, that I intimated to Mr. Adams, 
in the preceding letters, that Schuyler, Hamilton, etc., were 
his concealed political enemies, on the ground that they could 
neither lead nor coerce him into their high-toned federal meas- 
ures. The annals of America will show, that, in the follow- 
ing year, Mr. Adams sent new Commissioners to France, in 
direct opposition to the views of a large portion of the Federal 
party, and that the party was broken down by that measure. 

"In consequence, Hamilton publicly assailed Mr. Adams 
in a virulent pamphlet, in the most abusive, I may add Bil- 



1797- ] Or, Memoirs of Mkanah Watson. 401 

lingsgate, style, charging him with obstinacy, and ruining 
federal views.* His virtues and firmness saved 
the country ; and the predictions I had pub- Hammond 
lished were all verified and established." 

* This extraordinary pamphlet, it is said, there was an attempt to suppress, 
by the mutual friends of Hamilton and Adams. It is now very rare, but a 
copy is preserved, I am informed by an intelligent antiquarian friend, in a 
bound volume of pamphlets, in the New York State Library. — Editor. 




C ^v 



Passage down Lake George. Page 405. 



CHAPTEE XVI 



No further event of public interest, or calculated to exhibit 
the condition or progress of the country, is noticed by Mr. 
Watson, until the year 1805. In that year, accompanied by 
his old travelling associate, Mr. Bayard, he made an excur- 
sion to Vermont and the northern section of 

Vermont. this State - The y left Albany on the nine- 

teenth of August, and the ensuing day reached 

the " Sans Souci," in Ballston, amid scenes of elegance and 

gaiety. 

" We seated ourselves," the journal of Mr. 

s^rinfff Watson proceeds, "at a sumptuous table, with 

about a hundred guests of all classes, but 

generally, from their appearance and deportment, of the 



i8o5.] Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 403 

first respectability, assembled here from every part of the 
Union and from Europe, in the pursuit of health or pleasure, 
of matrimony, or of vice. This is the most splendid water- 
ing-place in America, and is scarcely surpassed in Europe, in 
its dimensions, and the taste and elegance of its arrangement. 
The building contains about one hundred apartments, all re- 
spectably furnished. The plan upon which it is constructed, 
the architecture, the style of the out-buildings, and the gravel 
walks girted with shrubbery, — are all on a magnificent scale. 
What a contrast has the progress of fifteen years, since I was 
here in 1790, produced ! Where the ' Sans Souci' now stands, 
was then almost an impenetrable quagmire, enveloped in 
trees, and deformed by stumps and fallen logs. A single 
one-story house, situated upon the hill which overlooked 
this desolate valley, was the only public accommodation, 
and although at the height of the season, was occupied 
by six or eight families. I described, in my journal of 
that day, the arrangements for drinking and bathing which 
then existed. 

" In the evening, we attended a ball in a spacious hall, bril- 
liantly illuminated with chandeliers, and adorned with various 
other appliances of elegance and luxury. Here was congre- 
gated a fine exhibition of the refinement of the ' beau monde.' 
A large proportion of the assembly was from the Southern 
States, and was distinguished by elegant and polished man- 
ners. Instead of the old-fashioned country-dances and four- 
hand reels, of revolutionary days, I was pleased to notice the 
advance of refined customs, and the introduction of the 
graces of Paris, in the elegant cotillion and quadrille. At 
table, I was delighted in observing the style and appearance 
of the company, males and females intermixed in the true 
French usage of l sans souci.' The board was supplied in 
profusion, not only with a rich variety, but with the luxuries 
of more sunny climes. There was a great display of ser- 



404 Men and Times of the Revolution; [i8o5. 

vants, handsomely dressed, while the music of a choice band 
enlivened the festivities. 

11 In the afternoon, we arrived at Congress Hall, in Saratoga. 
This is a large hotel, three stories high, with galleries in front, 

but far inferior to the l Sans Souci,' in dimen- 
ipringl? s i° ns an< ^ appearance. . The Saratoga Springs, 

since my first visit, have obtained great celeb- 
rity for their extraordinary medicinal properties. They are 
esteemed more efficacious than the Ballston waters. Saratoga 
is proving a formidable rival to Ballston, and it is probable 
will acquire the fashionable ascendency, and eventually be- 
come the Bath of America. 

" The road to Glenn's Falls on the Hudson, traverses, much 
of the way, a pine barren. These sandy soils have been con- 
sidered of little value for agricultural purposes until within a 

few years ; but the red clover tillage and the 
Sand Piahis. application of gypsum are found to render them 

very valuable for cultivation. When fully sub- 
dued and judiciously tilled, they are equal, in net productive- 
ness, to most lands, from the fact that they may be so cheaply 
and easily cultivated. 

"We crossed the Hudson, directly over Glenn's Falls. 

This is one of the most interesting cascades in 

America, but is little known. The variety and 
combination of scenery are rare and beautiful. We gazed 
from the bridge, for a full hour, in wonder and admiration, 
upon this sublime exhibition of nature. The whole volume of 
the mighty Hudson rushes tempestuously down these sluices, 
for the distance of half a mile, amid a labyrinth of obstruct- 
ing islands and rocks ; sometimes plunging over perpendicu- 
lar falls, and then for some space dashing among passages of 
eternal rocks, foaming and surging as if nothing could resist 
its impetuous torrent. The works of art mingle with the ma- 
jesty and beauty of nature. Mill races which conduct the 



i8o5.] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 405 

stream on both sides, water-wheels in their wild gyrations 
and their appendages of machinery, communicate variety to 
the enchanting scene. 

"Leaving the village of Sandy Hill on our right, we 
pressed forward, over a bad road, to the south end of the far- 
famed Lake George, — the St. Sacrament of the 
French, and still more appropriate and eupho- 
nious Horicon of the Indian. Upon debouching from the for- 
est, this lovely lake with its innumerable islands suddenly 
burst upon our view, revealed in all its exceeding romantic 
beauty. The lake, enveloped on both shores by a mountain 
screen, which, on the east side, ascends into bold and lofty 
eminences, reposed in a long, deep gorge, its placid and unruf- 
fled waters studded with isles, whose rocky and rugged mar- 
gin shelved down to the water's edge. This lake is celebrated 
for the depth and purity of its water, and for the quantity 
and excellence of its fish. The scenery of Lake George is 
surpassingly grand, picturesque, and beautiful. I am assured, 
that the Lake of Geneva, so vaunted by European tourists, 
bears no comparison to Horicon, either in its quiet loveliness 
or imposing magnificence. 

" We embarked early the next morning in a bateau, rowed 
by four men, to make the passage through the lake to its 
northern extremity. We coursed amid the in- 
teresting archipelago, and at noon landed and Scenery! 1 
dined sumptuously upon delicious trout, fresh 
from the cool and pare waters. In the afternoon, we entered 
the narrows, and were immediately in the midst of clusters 
of fairy islands, like gems upon the lake, which was itself 
girted by a frame work of mountains piled upon mountains. 
At sun-down, we reached Sabbath-day Point, 
which projects boldly into the lake from the |S th " day 
western shore; and here we pitched our tent 
for the night, in a barn, with straw for our beds. Nothing 



406 Mm and Times of the Revolution; [i8o5. 

could be more sublime than the effect of the setting sun, as 
its rays fell upon the piles of mountains which surrounded 
us. The day had been excessively hot. The outlines and 
pinnacles of the cones on the east, were bathed in the fiery 
tinges of the burning sun ; — a deep relief was produced by 
the long, dark shadows of the western range, slowly ascend- 
ing the sides of the former, while here and there the full blaze 
of the sun-beam was poured, through some ravines in the 
opposite range, on the slopes facing the west." 

The travellers, as they approached the northern termination, 
viewed Rogers's Slide, Howe's Cove, and the numerous other 
localities associated with the events of the French war. The 
vast water-power upon the outlet of Lake 
Lake et G°e f orge. George, Mr. Watson describes as adequate to 
every hydraulic purpose, and indulges in vivid 
anticipation, from its proximity to the immense deposits of 
iron ore, and its immediate connection with Lake Champlain, 
of its future importance as a manufacturing position. The 
world scarcely presents a parallel to the extraordinary com- 
bination of illimitable water-power, always enduring and 
equable, — peculiar commercial advantages of situation, and 
a facility of access to the raw material, which has been lav- 
ished by the hand of nature upon this site, but which still 
remains almost unoccupied and paralyzed, from the mistaken 
and contracted policy of. foreign proprietors. 

They visited the mouldering and impressive ruins of Ticon- 
deroga. Mr. Watson speaks of this venerable fortress, as 
" without assimilation to any thing in America, 
and exhibiting the appearance of an ancient 
castle of Europe, enveloped in the mist of ages, and sur- 
rounded with the associations of centuries." 
LX n chrmpiain. The y P rocee ded, down Lake Champlain, to 
Crown Point. The ruins of this fortress pre- 
sented still more distinct and visible evidences of its former 



i8o5.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 407 

Strength and glory. The peninsula of Crown Point he de- 
scribes, as " formed by a gentle eminence which gradually 
inclines to the margin of the water. Crown Point presents 
a bold front to the lake, of which we had an extensive view 
in the north, with rugged and lofty mountains bounding it 
on the west, and the far-famed chain of the Green Moun- 
tains stretching along the horizon upon the east, at the dis- 
tance of several miles." 

Crossing Champlain, they continued their journey in Ver- 
mont, along the eastern shore of the lake. Their route "led 
through a range of excellent farms occupied by 
substantial houses ; every appearance announc- Farras. nt " 

ing the abodes of high-minded, intelligent, re- 
publican farmers. A few elegant seats exhibited the pres- 
ence of affluence and taste." Vergennes, situated in the 
midst of a fertile territory, at the head of the navigation of 
Otter Creek, and upon a boundless water-power, was then a 
flourishing town, with extensive iron works in operation. In 
the possession of eminent advantages, it exhibited bright 
prospects for the future. 

They travelled over a fine agricultural territory, to Burling- 
ton. Near the mouth, of Otter Creek, their attention was 
drawn to the relics of Arnold's fleet, "lying in charred and 
blackened fragments in a deep bay, where he * 

, j n ° , 1 ii. i Arnold's Fleet. 

had run ashore, and destroyed his vessels, to 
prevent them from becoming trophies to the vastly superior 
fleet of Carleton. While their colors were still flying he 
burnt them, narrowly escaping with his crew, and exposed, 
in retreating through a rude wilderness, to great suffering." 
Mr. Watson was informed, in the tradition of the region, 
" that Arnold was the last man who left his ship,— dropping 
from the bowsprit into the lake, while she was enveloped in 
a mass of flames." 

Burlington he describes, as " a neat little village, princi- 



408 Men and Times of the Revolution; [i8o5. 

pally built on a public square. The university, a three-story 

edifice, is erected on an eminence overlooking 

the village. The institution is in a depressed 

condition, embracing only thirty students, with a President, 

who constitutes the whole faculty." Proceeding northward, 

over bad roads, they forded a belt of Champlain, by a narrow 

bar three miles in length, with deep water on 

SoufhHero. each side > to the islai]d ° f South Hera The y 

traversed this beautiful and highly-cultivated 
island, and crossing a ferry to Cumberland-head, again en- 
tered the State of New York. A pleasant road, along the 
margin of the deep indentations of Cumberland Bay, con- 
ducted them to the village of Plattsburg, at the mouth of the 
Saranac river. This was a considerable village, situated upon 
an excellent fall, already occupied by extensive mills. The 
land lying north was reported of a superior quality ; and at 
the south spread a pine barren for several miles in the 
vicinity of the village. Twenty years before, the territory 
north of Willsborough was an almost unbroken wilderness ; 

at this time, it was occupied by a comparatively 
BirchCanoes. dense population. They saw several Indians, 

with their birch canoes, engaged in dressing 
deer-skins, at the foot of the falls. Plattsburg was the north- 
ern termination of their journey. 

" The township of Peru, the town next south of Platts- 
burg, presents," Mr. Watson's journal remarks, "a level sur- 
face in an area of about ten miles from the lake, with a rich 
soil. It is well-settled, chiefly by Quakers from Dutchess 
county, who are introducing a high cultivation. They have 

erected a meeting-house, in the little village of 
g^ B Hm * Union. Soon after leaving Union, we ascended 

Hallock's Hill ; and here our progress was for 
some time arrested, in contemplating one of the most en- 
chanting landscapes my eye ever has rested upon. At the 



i8o5.] Or , Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 409 

north, as far as the horizon, a broad expanse of champaign 
spread before us. This level surface extends from the Au 
Sable river quite to Quebec, in a continuous and almost unin- 
terrupted plain. On the west, this level tract is bordered by 
abrupt and deeply- wooded heights, which, toward the Cana- 
dian borders, seem to subside into an elevated broken surface. 
Although a new country just emerging from a wilderness, as 
far as our vision penetrated, it was dotted here and there with 
little hamlets, — the forests checkered by many large openings. 
On our right, Plattsburg, Cumberland-head, 
North and South Hero, were distinctly visible. Plattsburg. 
Lake Champlain, studded with its numerous head, 
islands, expanded before us in a long line of 
beauty and magnificence, while beyond, the eye traced half 
the length of Vermont, girted on the eastern horizon by the 
bold and lofty outline of the Green Mountains, with the spires 
of Burlington glittering in the sunbeams on the extreme 
right. 

" This scene of unequalled loveliness was unfolded before 
us, like the canvas of a vast and gorgeous painting.* In 
this extended view, we embraced historic, — almost classic, — 
ground of the deepest interest. Some three or four miles 
south of Plattsburg lies Valcour Island, with a narrow strait 
separating it from the western shore of the lake. After the 
conquest of Crown Point and Ticonderoga, by 
Amherst, in 1759, the British fleet pursued and 
destroyed the French flotilla, in a bay upon the north-east 
corner of this island, and thus extinguished the last vestige 
of the dominion of France upon the lake. 

" Within the strait I have mentioned, occurred the terrific 

* The votary and admirer of nature still visits this scene, and gazes in 
rapture and admiration upon a landscape, which, blending in one view 
mountain and plain, lake and forest, village and island, combines all the 
elements of beauty and loveliness. — Editor. 
18 



410 Men and Times of the Revolution; [i8o5. 

conflict between Arnold and Carleton, on the 11th of October, 
'76. The succeeding night, Arnold exhibited 
Carleton Dd a s kiH and ability in eluding his antagonist,, 

equal to the daring courage and consummate 
conduct with which he had grappled with him in the unequal 
contest. Nine years after my visit, these waters were rendered 
still more illustrious, as the theatre of MacDonough's im- 
mortal victory. From this eminence, hundreds of anxious 
and excited spectators viewed the battle. 

" We diverged from the direct road, to visit some remark- 
able scenery upon the Au Sable river. Adgate's Falls, and 
the passage of the river among cloven rocks, is 
AdgaWs Falls. 1 "' a wonderful exhibition of the physical convul- 
sions which have distorted this whole region ; 
and, had they been situated in Europe, their fame would for 
ages have been resounded, and they would have allured the 
pilgrimages of all who love to contemplate nature in her wild- 
est moods and most wonderful works. 

" About one mile below the falls, we crossed the High 
Bridge, formed by timbers which span a chasm, of forty-five 
feet in width, and a hundred and thirty feet, at 
this point, in depth. Travellers who have de- 
scended to the base of this abyss, pronounce it one of the most 
extraordinary and imposing natural curiosities in America, 
not exceeded, in the interest and solemnity with which it im- 
presses the mind, — although of a totally different character, — 
by the cataract of Niagara. Yet these amazing scenes are 
rarely visited, and are scarcely known to exist.* 

* The county of Essex, in northern New York, is pre-eminent for its rare 
combination of beautiful and imposing scenery. Its placid sylvan lakes and 
bounding rivulets are singularly blended with majestic and towering moun- 
tain groups, with lofty and appalling precipices, — with dense and broad 
forests, — and highly cultivated fields. The whole physical arrangement of 
this territory, seems to have been strangely upheaved and distorted by some 



i8o5.] Or, Memoirs of Elkandh Watson. 411 

" The Au Sable river rises in the interior, amid an almost 
unknown and unexplored mountain tract, and pursues its 
course to Lake Champlain, a distance of about fifty miles, 
through a wild and broken country, forming a series of 
the most admirable 'water privileges,' which must prove of 

vast convulsion of nature. The gorge mentioned by my father, and known 
as the " Walled banks of the Au Sable," is among the most striking and in- 
teresting of these phenomena. 

The river Au Sable has forced a passage, by the gradual attrition of its 
current, (or it was created by the agency referred to,) through the sandstone 
formation from near the village of Keeseville. The walls of this gulf are, at 
Keeseville, about fifty feet in height on each side. Leaving this defile, the 
river glides quietly along a low valley, for nearly a mile, where it suddenly 
leaps an abrupt precipice, forming a cascade of exceeding beauty. From this 
point, it dashes and surges along a rocky sluice, to Adgate's Falls, where it 
plunges into a dark abyss of sixty feet descent. Immediately above the 
cataract, a bridge (an arch of which rests upon a rock in the midst of the 
stream) crosses the river. This bridge is perpetually enveloped in a cloud 
of mist and spray. During the winter season, these exhalations, congealing 
upon the rocks and trees, present a frost-work of the most gorgeous and 
fantastic exhibitions. Myriads of icy columns and arches, — of diamonds and 
pendants, — glitter in the sunbeams, with the most brilliant beauty and efful- 
gence. When the sun's rays rest upon the spray, a bright rainbow always 
spans the chasm. 

The whole combination exhibits a scene inexpressibly picturesque and 
magnificent. The river below the fall dashes, for the distance of more than 
a mile, through the lofty embankments of this murky ravine, the hidden 
recesses of which the eye can scarcely penetrate. The stream courses now 
along a natural canal, formed amid perfect layers of the sandstone, and now 
impetuously leaps down a sheer precipice, — the walls of each side ascending 
in a perpendicular face, in some parts to the altitude of a hundred and fifty 
feet. The opposite banks, formed of exact and stupendous masonry, are 
rarely separated, through the whole length of the ravine, more than thirty 
or forty feet, and often approach to within ten feet of each other. The dark 
foliage of the pines and cedars, which start from the crevices of the rocks, 
impending over, mantles the whole scene with an almost impervious can- 
opy. The depths of the gorge may be reached by lateral fissures, which 
are rent in the formation. By what potent and terrific agency this wonder- 
ful work has been created, is a question which presents a wide field for in- 
teresting but doubtful speculation. — Editor. 



412 Men and Times of the Revolution; [i8o5. 

the highest importance in this region of illimitable pine 
forests." 

The travellers crossed the Willsborough Mountain, by a 
road nearly impracticable to man or beast. 
MountTn ! Igh 0n the 8d of September they returned to Ver- 
mont, across a ferry three miles wide, in an 
open boat, from Willsborough to Charlotte. 

The country which they passed over, through the valley 
of Otter Creek, to Middlebury, was very inter- 
ott leJ Cr f k esting, and under fine cultivation. Middlebury 
Middlebury. was a large village, inhabited by an industrious 
and enterprising population, who were prepar- 
ing to embark extensively in manufactures. " In approaching 
Middlebury," Mr. Watson remarks, "we noticed an old man 
carrying a long staff, and driving a cow. His erect attitude, 
firm step, and venerable appearance, attracted our attention, 
although he was so humbly employed. In the course of the 
evening, the same person came into a house where I had 
called, and I was not a little surprised to learn, 
that he was the gallant and distinguished Gen- 
eral Nixon of the Eevolution. He is eighty years old. He 
told me, that he commenced his military career at the age of 
seventeen ; that he commanded, at the battle of Bunker Hill, 
a regiment of his neighbors' boys, (as he called them ;) and, 
as he expressed it, lost two-thirds of his best blood in that 
conflict. He was a most efficient and intelligent General 
Officer during the Eevolution, enjoyed largely the confidence 
of Washington, and was conspicuous in many trying scenes, 
and especially in the various battles in the vicinity of Sara- 
toga. 

" Middlebury lies on both sides of Otter Creek, and pos- 
sesses admirable hydraulic power. A mill on a novel plan 
is in operation, intended for sawing marble, which, in large 
quantities, both white and black, obtained from extensive 



i8o5.] Or , Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 413 

quarries in the vicinity, is here manufactured. A college, 
struggling in infancy, has just been established here. We 
travelled from Middlebury to Eutland, parallel 
to Otter Creek, upon a fine road, winding 
through an interesting valley, amid highly improved and ex- 
cellent farms. The ensuing day we returned to Albany." 

Mr. Watson during this period, was earnestly engaged in 
promoting the interest of Union College. He 
zealously co-operated with its friends, in pro- Dr. 1 Nott° Uege ' 
curing endowments from the Legislature, and 
devoted much time, expense, and personal labor, to the im- 
provement and embellishment of the grounds of the insti- 
tution. The poplars which formed the Academic grove that 
surrounded the old college edifice, and many which formerly 
stood in the streets of Schenectady, were principally pur- 
chased and transported from Albany at his private expense ; 
and part of them were planted by his own hand. He was 
influenced in making these efforts, not only by the ardent 
zeal he always felt for the advancement of every educational 
object, but by a personal sympathy with his intimate and 
cherished friend, the president of the college, Doctor JNTott, 
who was then laboring to sustain it, and by his energetic and 
zealous efforts was laying the broad foundations of its future 
prosperity and usefulness. 

Doctor Nott, during his ministry in Albany, was for a con- 
siderable time an inmate in the family of Mr. Watson. There 
was, upon the house which Mr. Watson occupied, a platform 
or observatory, to which the Doctor often retired, to write in 
seclusion and quiet. Among the discourses de- 
livered by him in Albany, was his great and Sermon on the 
celebrated sermon on the death of Hamilton, Hamilton 
which at once placed its author in the highest 
position among the pulpit orators of the age, and, after the 



414 Men and Times of the Revolution; [i8o5. 

lapse of half a century, remains unsurpassed in its deep pa- 
thos and splendid eloquence. 

Both Hamilton and Burr were on terms of social intimacy 
with Mr. Watson, and frequently met, as guests, 

™Tbu°£ at his table - Tllis § ave t0 the fatal meeting 

which took place between them, the deeper in- 
terest to him. 

An incident sprang out of this duel, (which proved fatal 
to Hamilton,) that might, by a slight change in the circum- 
stances, have proved fatal to his eulogist. On a particular 

occasion, when conversing upon the fall of Ha- 
und Sr? Nott. m ^on, Mr. Watson, taking from his trunk an 
The travelling ld travelling pistol, undertook to explain to 

Doctor Nott the manner in which these meet- 
ings of honor were conducted ; and, having indicated the 
distance and the stations occupied by the parties, he raised 
his pistol, and repeating the usual count, and giving the usual 
word, — Fire ! he suited the action to the word, and snapped 
the pistol. To his utter astonishment, it went off, indenting 
the opposite wall of the room, with its contained bullet, at 
the very place where Doctor Nott had been standing, and 
from which he had just stepped aside. 

For the first and nearly the last time, Mr. Watson was 
warmly and prominently enlisted in a contest of mere party 

politics, in 1807, as an active leader, (as I infer 
Party Politics. from the character of the newspaper assaults 

Letters from . j- x 

Dr. Nott. upon him,) of what was then known as the 

" Quid party." This fact will explain the allu- 
sion in the following playful and familiar letter of Doctor 
Nott, written by him to Mr. Watson the same year, soon 
after the removal of the latter to Pittsfield, Massachusetts. 

" And is it so 1 — Is the ' Northern Sentinel,' who has remained faith- 
ful on his watch through many a stormy night, when the winds heat 
and the rain fell, — who has scrutinized the insidious windings and re- 



1807.] Or, Memoirs of ETkanah Watson. 415 

sisted the open approaches of the enemy, at length to desert his post, 
and leave his old friend literally in the ditch 1 — Who will order the 
secret movement and indite the public bulletins, preparatory to the next 
grand engagement after a three years' armistice ? The Republic, — the 
Republic ! — this sudden advance into retirement I consider a kind of 
political treachery, a dereliction of the principles of '76. 

" But, politics aside, have you in good earnest, after spending twelve 
or fourteen years in paving, improving, ornamenting, and refining, 
brought your mind to leave the most delectable, the most fascinating, 
the most captivating of all terrestrial cities, and for what ? — a country- 
house and a fish-pond ! 

" Have you become so depraved, as to prefer the simple aromatic 
breeze that wafts nothing but odors of roses and wild flowers, to the 
life-giving gases which are generated and combined in the sewers of a 
city ; — the carols of birds and the prattle of children, to the clatter of 

wagons and the donder and bliJcsem of ; — the cool breezes and the 

shady grove, to the narrow lanes, the suffocating air, and burning sun 
and muddy streets of a quondam duck-pond ; — the ease and leisure of 
the country, to the buckram, the prim formality, and unmeaning cour- 
tesy of a city life? Oh, Elkanah, Elkanah ! thou art beside thyself! 
I shall tell thy wife to put on thee a straight jacket, confine thee to a 
dark chamber, and feed thee on depletion. And about the time when 
thou art recovered to thy sober senses, I shall come to see thee, and 
then, if thou wilt give me thy country-seat and fish-pond, I, a philos- 
opher, a hermit, will stay and live there, and permit thee again to re- 
turn to thy former habitation, to pump water out of thy cellar in the 
spring, — to suffocate in the streets in the summer, and make dinners for 
the Legislature in the winter, together with all the joys of bickering, 
wrangling, defaming, sneering, lying, and even fighting with clubs and 
pistols, — yes, to enjoy all these pleasures and many thereunto belonging. 

" As to the ten thousand dollars more or less, I am already de- 
pleted. I will give thee the amount in advice. So then, I advise thee 
to give up the thought of leaving thy new plantation, and remain where 
thou art ; or if thou wilt quit the field to do so, determining as the Re- 
public has abandoned thee, that thou wilt abandon it. Leave Mr. J. and 
Mr. C. to manage their affairs in their own way, and do nothing more 
than sing in thy retirement, Vive la Rtpublique. Let thy life be de- 
voted to literature, to agriculture, and religion ; — revise thy old journals 
and publish them or make new ones ; — but avoid politics. 

" My best respects to madam ; tell her, I hope she will make a good 



416 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1807. 

country -wife, and lay aside the city airs. And as to Miss Emilie, le* 
her sing in response to the robins, before sunrise, and ramble and grow 
ruddy. George must feed the ducks, and Mary weed the flowers, and, 
— -and what is his name 1 — Charles, catch the butterflies. 

u Yours, as ever, 

" E. Nott.* 
" Elkanah Watson." 

The following extracts of letters, from conspicuous actors 
in the political conflict of 1807, reveal a vehemence of per- 
sonal feeling and bitterness, seldom excited by 
of^iso? 1 Contest mere party collisions. They are selected from 
the correspondence of the friends and antago- 
nists of Mr. Watson, in that contest. 

Extract of a Letter from Colonel Elisha Jenkins, formerly Comptroller 

of the State, dated 

" Albany, August 12t7i, 1807. 

" Your letter of the 6th was this moment opened, and it gave me 
pleasure on inspecting the inscription, to feel that you had not entirely- 
forgotten me. I have too many pleasant retrospects connected with 
our acquaintance, which commenced at a very early period of my life, 
to he willing to sacrifice them all, on account of a mere difference in 
politics. I will, however, in reply to your apostrophe to the folly of 
mankind, make only one remark. There is a principle in human nature, 

* In introducing the above letter from Dr. Nott, which is selected from a 
voluminous correspondence, that is well worth preserving as containing 
beautiful models of epistolary style, I feel that I have scarcely violated the 
rule I have prescribed to myself, not to publish the correspondence of living 
persons ; for, his venerable age, his high position, and his eminent talents, 
have already placed his name in the u Pantheon of history." I have been 
deeply gratified, by the following valued tribute to my father's memory, and 
benediction upon my own labors, embraced in the closing paragraph of a 
note, dated September 8th, 1854. 

" Hoping you may succeed in placing the character of your honored father 
in its true light before the public, 

"I am very truly yours, 

"E. Nott. 

"W. C. Watson." 



1807.J Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 417 

which binds us closely to those whose views, interests, and pursuits, aro 
congenial to our own; — when the tie is broken by the secession of 
either party, it produces, by force of the same principle, a correspondent 
change of our attachments, so long as the new state of things lasts, and 
in proportion as we personally feel its effects. 

" But do not conclude from hence, that my composition is of that vin- 
dictive cast, that renders it impossible for me to think well of a man 
who differs from me in opinion. I will candidly own to you, that I feel 
no resentment against you for the part you have acted in the late polit- 
ical struggle in this State ; and if I have betrayed any coolness in my 
intercourse with you, during or since the controversy, remember, my 
friend, that I have smarted under an accumulation of wrongs, which I 
shall always think had their origin in the vindictive rancor of a man 
who felt disposed to persecute, because he had, without adequate cause, 
misrepresented and traduced me. Under this conviction, do you think 
it compatible with the feelings of our nature, that I could have retained 
the usual complacency towards my old acquaintances and friends, who 
were parties to this system of persecution and abuse 1 Your own good 
sense and knowledge of the human heart will readily furnish an an- 
swer. However, the conflict is over ; and, with the occasion I am dis- 
posed to bury my resentments, for I am well assured, that, even among 
Quids, I can find some who still feel a spark of friendship for me, and 
towards whom I reciprocate the same sentiment ; among these it will al- 
ways give me pleasure to include yourself." 



Extract of a Letter from Thomas Tillotson, former Secretary of State. 

" Ehinebeck, May 2Sth, 180T. 
" Dear Sir : 

" I set off to meet you at Chancellor Livingston's, according to your 
appointment ; but, alas ! what are verbal engagements in these degener- 
ate times, when revolution follows revolution, in morals and politics, as 
the wave follows the one that precedes it ? The issue of the late elec- 
tions has terminated in favor of the Cheethamites, the Gibbetsites, Hit- 
tites, (cudgellers,) and Parasites. Now, if you can find among the na- 
tions of the earth so many tribes, factions, and banditti, of an equal 
standing in morals, and who wield the sceptre of an independent State, 
I will admit you to be Dr. Mitchill's equal in knowledge of antiquity. 
In making this broad declaration, recollect that T do not mean to extend 
the right of selection to the Jewish tribes terminating in ites, for I ad- 
18* 



418 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1807. 

mit that they, in some instances, might have outstripped in profligacy 
even Cheetham and his followers. So much for politics, such as they 



The succeeding letter was written to Mr. Watson by Ed- 
mund G. Genet, the former French Minister, but, at the period 
of its date, a citizen of the United States : 

"Prospect Hill, May 1st, 1807. 

"Dear Sir: — The constant firing which has been kept up on me 
during the election, has obliged me to be at all times at the battery, on 
the defensive ; and that circumstance, in combination with other busi- 
ness, has not allowed me to answer sooner your very friendly letter. 
Be well assured, Sir, that I have not considered you the author of the 
miserable libels published against me in the " Crisis," and particularly 
the letters of the Quaker or Shaker, which have been attributed to you. 
My long acquaintance with you, which dates from the year 1793, in 
New York, has convinced me, that you were a well-informed and soci- 
able gentleman, and accordingly I could not take you for the scribbler 
of productions which denote so much perversity and ignorance. 

" I regret exceedingly, that the contagious air of your neighborhood* 
has made you lose, in the opinion of many, the belief which I myself 
entertained, in your firm attachment to the cause of liberty and republic- 
anism ; but, as your apparent change must be attributed entirely to that 
local circumstance, I have done my best to remove the furor of that 
epidemic ; and, being confident of success, I hope that, in future, nothing 
will obliterate our former intimacy. Mrs. Genet joins in respects to her 
amiable friend, your worthy lady, and in. compliments to yourself. I 
am, with those sentiments, 

" Dear Sir, your obedient servant, 

" E. C. Genet." 

* Mr. Watson was the near neighbor of Governor Lewis. — Editor. 




Awarding Prizes. Page 430. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



In June, 1807, in accordance with a long cherished desire, 
which had grown and strengthened by the observation and 
experience of twenty years, Mr. Watson retired from the city ; 
in pursuit of rural occupations and felicity. He purchased an 
elegant mansion, connected with an extensive farm, near the 
beautiful village of Pittsfield, in Massachusetts. Here, at the 
age of fifty, he commenced his agricultural 
career. His only error in the adoption of this pftSfiefd. t0 

pursuit, he remarks, was, that he embraced it 
at too late a period of life, — after his habits and feelings had 
been moulded by a long residence in cities. 

The county of Berkshire, pre-eminent in New England 
for the rich beauty and attraction of its scenery, and the 



420 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1807. 

elegant refinement and the high moral and intellectual quali- 
Berkshire ties °f its society, — was his residence, for 

County. a p er iocl of nine years, and the theatre of 

his most effective and valuable labors in the promotion of 

agriculture and manufactures. The system of 
State of Manu- husbandry which prevailed in that district, was 
Agriculture. antiquated and defective, — with little guidance 

of science, or the influence of modern progress. 
The sheep of the country were, uniformly, of the coarse, 
loose-woolled, native varieties. The swine were of breeds 
equally defective and unprofitable. The dairies were formed 
of animals of inferior qualities. These characteristics of the 
agricultural aspect of Berkshire, -were not peculiar or confined 
to that county ; but, at that period, distinguished the hus- 
bandry of New England. The exuberant soil of the interior 
of New York, and the still more opulent West, then first 
opened to emigration, — yielded an abundant and spontaneous 
harvest, without the application of science and improved 
tillage. The sterile earth of Massachusetts was abandoned 
and neglected by much of its most vigorous population, for 
the fascinating allurements of these more favored regions. 

At that period, manufacturing industry and skill were re- 
stricted, almost exclusively, to the domestic circle. That vast 
fountain of wealth and prosperity to New England had not 
yet been revealed. The rock was still to be stricken. In the 
autumn of 1807, Mr. Watson procured the first pair of Merino 

sheep which had been introduced into the 
Merino Sheep. county of Berkshire, if not into the State of 
Stock? Ve Massachusetts. "I was induced, " he says, in 

the History of the Berkshire Agricultural So- 
ciety, published in 1820, "to notify an exhibition, under the 
lofty Elm Tree, on the public square, in Pittsfield, of these 
two sheep. Many farmers, and even females, were attracted 
to this first novel and humble exhibition. From this lucky 



1807.] O, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 421 

incident I reasoned thus : if two animals are capable of ex- 
citing so much attention, what would be the effect of a display, 
on a larger scale, of different animals ? The farmers present 
responded to my remarks, with approbation. We thus became 
acquainted ; and, from that moment to the present hour, Agri- 
cultural Fairs and Cattle Shows, with all their connections, 
have predominated in my mind, greatly to the prejudice of 
my private affairs. 

" The winter following, I addressed, through the press, the 
farmers of Berkshire, with a view to the spread of Merino 
sheep, — which I considered invaluable, especially in the hilly 
districts of New England. The wool which came from the 
two sheep referred to, was, with infinite pains, manufactured, 
by the best artists then in the county, into a piece of blue 
cloth. It far excelled any fabric which had yet appeared. 
A detail of its manufacture and expense per yard, was pub- 
lished extensively in the papers ; and samples 
of the article were exhibited in the principal ^ctoriL. 

cities. This may be regarded as the origin of 
the woollen factories of Berkshire ; which now vie with the 
best European. 

" In 1808, I obtained from Dutchess county, New York, a 
pair of small-boned, short-legged pigs, known as the grass-fed 
breed. The old stock gradually disappeared, 

, , ■*_■! i • j -u fu Pigs and Cattle. 

and the community largely gained by the ex- 
change. The same year, I purchased, and introduced, a 
young bull of a celebrated English stock, with the view of 
ameliorating the breed of cattle." 

Although the public mind was slowly, but decisively, 
maturing to the apprehension of the value and importance of 
these objects, Mr. Watson seems to have stood almost alone 
in advocating them, and was exposed to the shafts of ridicule 
and satire. 

On the 1st of August, 1810, an Appeal, on the subject of a 



422 Men and, Times of the Revolution; [1808. 

'" Cattle Show," was written by Mr. Watson, and addressed to 
the farmers bf the county. This Appeal was 

Cattle Show. . -, n , . -i • n 

signed by twenty-six persons, and appointed an 
exhibition of stock on the ensuing 1st of October. It closed 
in the following language: — "It is hoped this essay will not 
be confined to the present year, but will lead to permanent 
cattle shows; and that an incorporated Agricultural Society 
will emanate from these meetings, which will be hereafter 
possessed of funds sufficient to award premiums." This effort 
was eminently successful. 

The following note from Elbridge Gerry, at that time Gov- 
ernor of Massachusetts, was in reply to a com- 
Ei e bridg*e°Gerry. niunication of Mr. Watson, previous to the 
organization of the Berkshire Society, invoking 
the aid of the Executive and Legislature of that State, for the 
promotion of its agriculture and manufactures. 

" Cambridge, UK February, 1811. 
" Dear Sir : 

" I have perused with great pleasure your letters of the 13th and 17th 
of January. I shall promote in every possihle way, the preservation 
and increase of Merino sheep, and the manufacture of woollen cloths. 

" The New York laws are enclosed to the Honorable Mr. Childs, who 
also appears zealous in promoting these important objects. 

" I thank you for your oiFer to supply me with some of your excellent 
manufactures. 

" Your observations in regard to emigration from this State, and to 
the best mode to prevent it, and to profit by our prolific hive, appear to 
me very correct ; and they do not escape the attention of the legislature.* 

" Being in great haste, I have only time to add my assurances of es- 
teem and regard, and that I am, dear Sir, yours, sincerely, 

" E. Gerry. 

" Mr. Watson." 



* Note. — " This was developed in my first Address, September following, 
viz., the renovation of worn-out farms, and the introduction of an improved 
system of agriculture." — Mem. on Letter. 



1808.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 423 

In the ensusing winter, the Society received a charter 
from the Legislature of Massachusetts ; and the preliminaries 
were perfected for a formal and extended festi- 
val, in the succeeding September. The event ^^od§: 
was highly auspicious. The day was beauti- 
ful; and, at an early hour, the village was thronged with 
thousands of excited and interested spectators. 

Fine domestic animals were seen approaching the place of 
exhibition, from every direction. The procession Mr. Wat- 
son commemorates, " as splendid, novel, and 
imposing, beyond any thing of the kind ever ^^^ 
exhibited in America. It cost me (he says) an 
infinity of trouble, and some cash ; but it resulted in exciting 
a general attention in the Northern States, and placing our 
Society on elevated ground. In this procession were sixty- 
nine oxen, connected by chains, drawing a plough held by 
the oldest man in the county ; a band of music ; the Society, 
bearing appropriate ensigns, and each member decorated with 
a badge of wheat in his hat.* A platform upon wheels fol- 
lowed, drawn by oxen, bearing a broadcloth loom and spin- 
ning jenny, both in operation, by English artists, as the stage 
moved along ; mechanics with flags ; — and another platform, 
filled with American manufactures. The pens were hand- 
somely occupied by some excellent animals." 

Mr. Watson, as President of the Society, delivered the Ad- 
dress to an audience that filled the spacious church ; and an- 
nounced the premiums, (which only amounted to seventy 
dollars,) for the most meritorious animals. The Society had 



* " Considering wheat as the peculiar emblem of Agriculture, I conceived 
the idea, on this occasion, of drawing a line, not only between members and 
spectators, but also between the farmer and officers of the Society. The 
members bore two heads of wheat, tied with a pack-thread, and the officers 
three heads, secured by a green ribbon." 



424 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1812. 

no means of extending the premium list to agriculture, farms, 
or domestic manufactures. 

From this period, the great obstacle to the successful prog- 
ress of the Society was created by the difficulty of obtaining 
funds. The adverse public sentiment had been 
the Society subdued. Encouraged by gentlemen from Bos- 

ton, who were present at the late exhibition of 
the Society, Mr. Watson proceeded to that place at his own 
expense, and spent a month in soliciting aid. "Although 
our efforts were highly applauded, and I was greatly distin- 
guished in the legislature by personal attention, all my exer- 
tions were unavailing. I found myself pursuing an ignis 
fatuus. Much humbled and mortified with this abortive 
begging expedition, I returned to Pittsfield, after expending 
about one hundred and fifty dollars." 

The exhibition of 1812 was distinguished by a great in- 
crease of premiums, amounting, in the aggregate, to two hun- 
dred and eight dollars. Mr. Watson exhibited, 
in X i8i2 t . 1 ° n ' 0n this occasion, a piece of superfine broad- 

cloth, made from the down of his wool. This 
cloth formed an epoch in the progress of American manufac- 
tures, and excited a strong interest throughout the country. 
The President of the United States, and several other emi- 
nent public men, were clothed with it. 

" Satisfied," Mr. Watson observes in his History, " of the 
propriety of solemnizing these occasions, by mingling re- 
ligious exercises with appropriate addresses, 
Ixefeises. an( ^ the delivery of premiums, and as pecu- 

liarly proper, in devout acknowledgment for 
the blessings of the year, and being also impressed with the 
belief that the measure would tend to give popularity to the 
Society among the graver classes of the community, we sug- 
gested our wishes to several of the clergy who were present, 
soliciting their co-operation in our views. They hesitated, 



i8i2.] O, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 425 

probably regarding our measures the bubble of the moment, 
and, supposing, that by participating in it, they would make 
themselves ridiculous. One, however, at length assented, and 
ascending the pulpit, offered an animated pastoral prayer. 
Odes, adapted to the occasion, were sung by a full choir. 

" It was considered of the first importance to the success 
of the Society, to enlist the sympathies and to arouse the in- 
terest of the females of the country, in its oper- 
ations. To effect this object, a separate day influence, 
was appointed, and several valuable premiums 
of silver plate were exclusively devoted to them, to be awarded 
for domestic industry. The day arrived, a large room was 
prepared, many superior articles of domestic manufacture, 
especially woollens and linens, were exhibited ; but no female 
appeared to claim the premiums. This was the crisis ; and 
I was extremely agitated, lest the experiment should fail. 
Native timidity, and the fear of ridicule, restrained them. 
No one dared be the first to support a new project. To coun- 
teract this feeling, we resorted to a manoeuvre, which in an 
hour accomplished our wishes. I left the Hall, and with no 
small difficulty prevailed on my good wife to accompany me 
to the house of exhibition. I then dispatched messengers to 
the ladies of the village, announcing that she waited for them 
at the Cloth Show. They hastened out. The farmer's wives 
and daughters, who were secretly watching the movements 
of the waters, also sallied forth ; — and the Hall was speedily 
filled with female spectators and candidates for premiums. 
This was one of the most grateful moments of my life. I im- 
mediately arose in the rear of the table, on which the glitter- 
ing premiums were displayed, and delivered 
a formal address." Domestic 

. Manufactures, 

In reference to this effort at promoting do- promoted, 
mestic manufactures, Mr. Watson remarks : 
"The vast effects, which will grow out of this system, when 



426 Men and Times of the Revolution; [i8i4- 

these societies shall become general, are beyond the reach 
of figures, by arresting our colonial degradation and de- 
pendence on foreign countries, especially for articles of 
clothing. Perhaps, the net gain to the nation may equal 
the benefit which agriculture will derive from these institu- 
tions. 

" Although the Legislature was deaf to our earnest and re- 
peated applications for aid, and insensible to the progress the 
Society was making, in overcoming the wretched system of 
husbandry which had pervaded the whole of New England, 
and in the improvement of stock ; yet, by individual efforts, 
the funds of the Society were so augmented, that it was enabled 
to offer the various departments an aggregate of premiums, 
amounting to four hundred dollars. An interesting and novel 
feature in the practical operation of the Society, was adopted, 
on the suggestion of a very intelligent member of the Execu- 
tive Committee,* which is worthy of notice and imitation. 
A committee of prominent farmers was selected ; and the 
duty devolved upon them, of traversing the county, in the 
month of July, when the fields were in full luxuriance, and 
to examine and award premiums on the standing crops which 
had been entered for competition." 

In an address before the Otsego Society, in 1817, he thus 

notices this striking inquisition: "To see a 

Otsego group of the most respectable farmers, (as if un- 

Agriculturai ° r _ • * f , N ni 

Society. der the solemnity 01 an oath,) personally in- 

specting, in their midst, fields of grain, grass, 
vegetables, etc., and also the state of the orchards, buildings, 
fences and farming utensils ; and to witness the anxious can- 
didate for premiums, attentively hearing every lisp favorable 
to his husbandry or probable success, is more exhilarating to 
the pride of patriotism, than to view the gorgeous pageantry 

* Ebenezer Carter, Esq. 



1814.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. . 427 

of palaces, and their pampered tenants decorated with gold." 
Efforts were made, to derive aid from the ample funds of the 
Massachusetts Agricultural Society. These applications were 
not successful, but led to an interesting correspondence be- 
tween Mr. Adams and Mr. Watson, which will be inserted 
in succeeding pages. 

In 1814, the operations of the Society had become widely 
diffused, and its prosperity warmly cherished 
in the interests, and deeply implanted in the Mr - Watson's 

no n i • rr • t i Resignation 

anections of the community. Having digested of his office, 
and matured a system of by-laws for the gov- 
ernment of the Society, Mr. Watson, at the annual festival, 
withdrew from its Presidency. 

More than forty years have elapsed since the organization 
of this Society ; it still exists as the institution of the county, 
exerting a powerful and benignant influence upon its agricul- 
tural progress and improvement ; the pattern and examplar, 
upon which others have been formed, not only 
in New England and New York, but in the re- influence of the 

° , r\ i Berkshire Agri- 

mote southern and western states. Other nom- cultural Society. 
inal agricultural associations preceded it, but 
the plan of the Society of Berkshire was original and peculiar. 
In the language of Mr Watson, " others had too much de- 
pended on types." The principle of the modern plan, was to 
address the interests and the sentiments of the people. The 
public exhibition of choice animals, while it made them fa- 
miliar to the farming community, attracted its attention to 
their beauty and value, and to the importance of their intro- 
duction. It aroused the emulation of the farmers, and, by the 
brilliant display of premiums, excited their self-interest. 
Competition in crops awakened scientific investigations, and 
their practicable application. The management and the appli- 
ances by which the fortunate competition secured success, 
were described and widely adopted. Domestic industry was 



428 Men and Times of the Revolution ; [1816. 

fostered, and its labors accelerated. Farmers at the fairs and 
business meetings of the Society, were brought into inter- 
course, and were led to act in concert, and to appreciate 
the dignity and importance of their vocation. The expe- 
rience and observation of nearly half a century, have un- 
questionably suggested many essential modifications and im- 
provements ; but, the Agricultural Societies of the present 
day continue to be modelled upon the plan and the system 
which was originated in Berkshire. 

Two years after the resignation of Mr. Watson, the Presi- 
dent of the Society, in his annual address, uttered an emphatic 
comment upon its measure and influence. He says, " Only 

six years ago, the agricultural concerns of the 
£e fodetv. county were stationary. Few, if any, valuable 

improvements were attempted. Indifference 
and unconcern seemed to have prevaded society. In 1810, the 
genius of the County shook off the slumbers of its husband- 
men, and the spirit of improvement commenced. Under the 
auspices of your Association, a career of usefulness was re- 
sumed and diligently promoted. The former state of things 
has given way to a new condition ; unfolding to us improve- 
ments, in variety and usefulness, surpassing the most sanguine 
expectations. Every department of rural employment de- 
monstrates an intelligent cultivation, and effectual good man- 
agement. In the selection and rearing of domestic animals, 
more correct information prevails, and greater emulation is 
awakened. The vast increase, variety, and excellence of our 
crops, satisfy our warmest desires, and leave us nothing to 
envy in the most favored regions of the west." 

At a later period, when the Society had exerted six years 
more of effort and influence, Thomas Gold, Esq., its third 
President, and a conspicuous citizen of Berkshire, thus ad- 
verts to the origin and operations of the Society, and its 
elevated position : " We all rejoice to find, that you still take 



i822.] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 429 

a deep interest in all that relates to the fame and prosperity 
of this highly useful institution. It was form- 
ed under your auspices, and was reared to its operations!^ 
present enviable condition, by unusual efforts 
and great expenditure. Its fame and influence have ex- 
tended over the entire surface of the United States ; its ex- 
ample, followed; its approbation, courted by its extended 
offspring. It has been recognized, as well in Europe as 
America, as an original, novel plan, and the most excellent 
organization ever conceived to promote the great interests 
under its patronage." 

The vivid description of one of the early festivals of this 
Society, contained in a letter of a highly respectable southern 
gentleman, to a friend in Virginia, possessed peculiar interest, 
as reflecting the views and feelings of an in- 
telligent and dispassionate spectator, as they its Fair, 
were formed at the moment. The letter was a Virginian, 
extensively published in the newspapers of that 
period. " I have been delighted with the whole proceedings, 
through two successive days. Every thing was conducted 
with perfect decorum and system. The exhibition of agricul- 
tural products, of prime animals and household manufactures, 
was extremely interesting, the first day ; and from the spirit 
which seemed to be infused into every individual, male and 
female, much good doubtless has resulted from this noble 
institution ; and I trust much remains yet in store." 

" It is impossible to express to you the impressive scene at 
the church. A procession of respectable farmers formed, the 
second day, each with a wheat cockade in his hat ; the clergy 
and honorary members also mounted this appropriate badge 
of the Society. In the procession were flags, having em- 
blems of agriculture and manufactures; also, music, and a 
plough. On entering a spacious church, well filled, the first 
object that attracted my attention was a handsome display of 



430 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1822. 

highly polished silver plate, consisting of spoons, bowls, 
tumblers, tea apparatus, etc., placed to great advantage on a 
table, in front of the pulpit. The ceremony commenced with 
an animated pastoral prayer. At its close, my heart thrilled 
with emotions difficult to express, on seeing a long line of 
beautiful females, and as many men, in the opposite gallery, 
rise at the same moment. My first impressions were much 
increased, by the elegant and dignified manner in which they 
sang an appropriate ode, composed for the occasion, exceed- 
ing any thing of the kind I had ever heard. In the rear of 
the leader were an organ and a band of music. 

" The most interesting of all the proceedings, were the Ke- 
ports of the Committees, especially the detailed Keport of 
the Visiting Committee of Agriculture. The President an- 
nounced from the pulpit, immediately after his address: "As 
premiums are proclaimed for females, they will please arise in 
their places, and the head Marshal will deliver 
toLadies S ^° eac ^ ^er premium and certificate of honorable 

testimony. The instant the name of the success- 
ful candidate was announced, the eyes of an exhilarated 
audience were flying in every direction, impelled by the 
strongest curiosity, to see the fortunate blushing female, 
with downcast eye, raising both her hands, as the Marshal 
approached, with one to receive her premium, and the other 
her certificate. The effect cannot be described ; it must be 
seen, to be realized. I sincerely hope, that the time is not re- 
mote, when these patriotic and laudable exhibitions, so well 
calculated to promote improvement in agriculture and domes- 
tic manufactures, will be familiar to every part of the Union. 
They must not be confined to Berkshire, as their extension can- 
Letters from not fail to prove of immense national utility." 
Pni a 8tofand L Gea- The extracts which follow, of a letter from 
erai Humphreys. Chancellor Livingston, dated the 29th of June, 
1810, and another of General Humphreys, October 6th, 1812, 



i8io-i2.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 431 

exhibit some interesting facts, relative to the introduction 
of the Merino sheep, and on the general subject of wool 
growing. 

" I think, with you, that the high price will introduce Merinos, as long 
as the port of Lisbon remains open, and the British armies are on the 
frontier of Spain. It is probable, too, that numbers will be inferior 
sheep, that may rather tend to discredit than improve our stock. Some 
good ones, however, will be introduced, and so far the country will be 
benefited. I believe, also, that sheep will now be brought from all parts 
of the world, and perhaps useful races be obtained. The papers men- 
tion the arrival of a Cashmerean at Boston. The Cashmerean wool is 
reported to be very fine, and it may possibly make a valuable cross with 
the Merino. 

" I am with much esteem, dear Sir, yours, 

"Robert R. Livingston. 

" Elkanah Watson, Esq." 



" It affords me vast pleasure to learn, that you are to have so elegant 
a display of fine animals and superfine cloths ; and my regret in not 
having the opportunity of witnessing and appreciating them, is the more 
sensible, from the sudden and flattering manner in which these objects 
have been improved and augmented in your county, and the contiguous 
parts of the State. The pleasure and admiration are the further in- 
creased, in contemplating and reperusing the correspondence with 
yourself and Mr. Danforth, with which I was honoured some years 
ago. I judge it will not be unamusing or unprofitable, to publish 
some parts of them with my answers, when I shall bring together, and 
submit to the public eye, some views of the introduction of the fine- 
woolled breed of sheep into this country, and the subsequent influence 
of this measure on the agriculture and manufactures of the country. 

I have, within a few days past, received some very interesting com- 
munications from Europe, on subjects connected with that of this letter. 
The greatest exertions are now making, in the United Kingdom of Great 
Britain, to improve and extend the Merino breed of sheep, from a full 
conviction, that every country must hereafter look to its own resources, 
for a supply of fine wool. This and many other important facts are de- 
monstrated, by the second report of the Merino Society of Great Britain, 
as well as in a private letter from its President, Sir Joseph Banks, who, 



432 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1808. 

in his character of President of the Royal Society, has given me much 
instruction and valuable information. His letter was dated a few days 
before it was known in England that war had been declared by this 
country. 

" I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

"D. Humphreys, 
" E. Watson, Esq." 

The correspondence of Mr. Watson, at this period, with 

Chancellor Livingston and Colonel Humphreys, was very 

voluminous, and related chiefly to the introduc- 

Correspondence tion of Merino sheep, their treatment and ad- 

with Livingston . x 7 _ _ 

and Humphreys, vantages, and the probable national results 01 
the measure. These letters are in my posses- 
sion. The bundle which contains them has this endorsement, 
in my father's writing: "Prom Chancellor Livingston and 
Colonel Humphreys : an interesting correspondence on the 
subject of Merino sheep ; is worthy the attentive examination 
of the curious in future times." I will only here extract one 
passage, as illustrative of the character of this correspon- 
dence, from a letter of Chancellor Livingston's, dated 13th of 
November, 1808 : 

" The samples you have sent me of your cloth, are full and satisfac- 
tory proofs of our ability to manufacture as good cloth as we shall wish 
to wear ; as well as the great importance of cultivating the Merino 
breed, in preference to any other. With a few more disciples as zealous 
as you, I doubt not that my object will be accomplished, and I shall 
have the satisfaction of thinking, that my old age and retirement are 
not wholly useless to the community. My introduction of this breed 
of sheep, under a shape and size that does not present them disagree- 
ably at first sight, — and my illustration of their advantages by plain and 
undeniable facts and calculations, have had a wonderful effect ; and, I 
find, have spread further than I expected, among the intelligent farmers 
of the neighboring states. 

"I am glad to find you are pursuing the same course ; your statement 
is clear and convincing. I have now made up the account of profit and 
loss of this year of my flock, consisting of one hundred and forty-five 



i8i2.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 433 

Merinos of different grades, together with forty-two common ones, making 
the whole flock one hundred and eighty-seven. And the result, after 
the payment of all expenses, including four hundred and nine dollars 
on three rams hired out, one of them only three-quarter blood, is a clear 
profit, on rams, lambs, and wool, of two thousand, six hundred and 
ninety-six dollars, being fourteen dollars and a half per head. I doubt 
not, from the improved blood of my present flock, and my having a 
greater number of Merino rams, and but twenty-nine picked common 
sheep, that they will next year, if I am fortunate in the lambs, bring me 
four thousand dollars." 

Although Mr. Watson was a Kepublican, in the highest 
and most emphatic acceptation of the term, he had rarely 
mingled in the strife of mere party conflicts : he was never 
shackled to the car of any political sect. Eegarding, how- 
ever, the policy of England as aggressive and as an outrage 
on the rights and character of the Kepublic, he earnestly sus- 
tained the measures which resulted in the war 
of 1812, and yielded, to the support of that is- oosi^ 

sue, all the patriotic ardor and energy of his 
character. The following letters from Mr. Adams, to which 
I have already adverted, exhibit, in an interesting and ele- 
vated view, the sentiments of that single-minded and ardent 
patriot, on this momentous subject, at the period of its immi- 
nent crisis. 

" Quincy, July 6th, 1812. 

" Dear Sir : — I am favored with your letter of the 28th ultimo. It 
has revived the recollections of our former acquaintance in France, 
England, and Holland, as well as in several parts of our country. I 
think, with you, that it is the duty of every considerate man, to support 
the national authorities, in whosesoever hands they may he. To your 
allusion to the war, I have nothing to say. But it is with surprise I 
hear it pronounced, not only hy newspapers, but by persons in author- 
ity, ecclesiastical and civil, political and military, that it is an unjust 
and an unnecessary war, and that the declaration of it was altogether 
unexpected, etc. 

" How is it possible, that a rational, a social, or a moral creature can 
19 



434 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1812. 

say, that the war is unjust , is to me utterly incomprehensible. How it 
can be said to be unnecessary, is very mysterious. I have thought it both 
just and necessary, for five or six years. How it can be said to be un- 
expected, is another wonder. I have expected it, more than five and 
twenty years, and have had great reason to be thankful, that it has been 
postponed so long. I saw such a spirit in the British Islands, when I 
resided in France, in Holland, and in England itself, that 1 expected 
another war, much sooner than it has happened. I was so impressed 
with the idea, that I expressed to Lord Landsdowne (formerly Lord 
Shelburne) an apprehension, that his lordship would live long enough 
to be obliged to make, and that I should live long enough to see, another 
peace made between Great Britain and America. His lordship did not 
live long enough to make the peace, and I shall not probably live long 
enough to see it ; but I have lived to see the war that must be followed 
by a peace, if the war is not eternal. 

" Our Agricultural Societies may not be so much regarded, but the 
great interests of agriculture will not be diminished by the war. Manu- 
factures also will be promoted. 

" Your sincere friend, 

" John Adams. 

" Elkanah Watson, Esq., 

" President of the Berkshire Agricultural Society." 

The ensuing extract is selected from a long letter, a part of 
which has been inserted in preceding pages, and another por- 
tion I do not feel at liberty to publish. 

" Qutncy, July Wth, 1812. 
" Dear Sir : — In answer to your letter of the 9th, I have only to say, 
you may do as you please with my letter of the 6th. But if you expect 
that any opinion of mine will have any influence, you will find yourself 
mistaken." 

I regret not to find copies of the letters of Mr. Watson in 
connection with the correspondence of Mr. Adams, which 
follows, as they doubtless would elucidate many of the allu- 
sions and positions of the latter. 

" Qutnoy, August 10, 1812. 
" Dear Sir : — Your favor of the 9th July is yet unacknowledged. The 
first page compels me to say, that the real cause of the rancorous viru- 
lence with which I have been treated by all parties, — French and Eng- 



i8i2.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 435 

lish, — democratical and aristocratical, — and I might add Presbyterian 
and anti-Presbyterian, — has been that I never was, and never could be, 
a passive tool of any party, — demagogue or pedagogue. While I was 
swimming in the full tide of popularity, and had more business at the 
bar in Boston than any lawyer there, whig or tory, I engaged in favor 
of Captain Preston and his soldiers, in March, 1770. The whigs were 
shocked and enraged, yet they could not give me up. 

" They conquered their disgust and resentment, so far as to choose me 
representative of Boston, in May. I got the trial postponed to the next 
fall, that the raging flames might not consume all truth, honor, law, 
equity, and humanity. At the trial in the fall, I labored like what? — 
like what? Shall I say like a dray-horse? like a plantation slave? or 
a coal-heaver, for fourteen days, and obtained verdicts that God and 
man will approve ? What was the consequence ? Curses and denun- 
ciations in every street in Boston, with the loss of more than half my 
business at the bar ! From that time to this, I have been the butt, the 
target for wanton libellers. All parties have thought themselves safe, 
in belching out any nauseous Billingsgate against me. 

" I am not flattered by your promise of a place in Biography, if you 
mean such as that by Elliot, or even Allen. I had rather my name 
should be buried in oblivion. The gross ignorance, the base partiality, 
and the lazy, hasty and superficial investigations of both, are to me ex- 
tremely disgusting. 

" My motive for inquiring into your conversation at Birmingham, is 
this. I have reason to believe, that Governor Hutchinson, Chief Justice 
Oliver, all the judges and ministerial people who were in the secret, im- 
puted to me the impeachment of the judges. They thought me the 
original suggester, the principal supporter, and the most efficient con- 
ductor of that process. When you told me, that " they feared me more 
than any or all other men, as the author of the Revolution," I suspect 
that they meant and considered me as the author of that impeachment, 
and that impeachment as the pivot on which the Revolution turned. I 
wished to know, whether that impeachment was mentioned or re- 
collected, in any of your conversations at Birmingham. 

" It has pleased God, to prolong my life to such an age, that I can re- 
view all parties, and recollect all distinguished characters, from 1755 to 
1812. I can compare Hutchinson with Washington, Sewall and Oliver 
with Marshall and Parsons, Hancock with nobody, — he never had his 
equal in generosity, — but, in political stability, with Dickinson, James 
Otis and Samuel Adams with Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee. 



436 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1812. 

"As nothing promotes party politics, spiritual and temporal, so much 
as pilgrimages, it would not be very astonishing, if pilgrimages to Mount 
Vernon should become as fashionable and as necessary to worldly pro- 
motion, if not to eternal salvation, as those to Mecca, Loretto, or Saint 
Jago of Compostelia ; — I scarcely dare hint at the Holy Sepulchre at 
Jerusalem and the Crusades. The sordid panegyrics increase, almost 
as fast as the sordid philippics. Adulation is as base and as ill applied, 
as vilification and reproach, thus confounding all degrees and distinc- 
tions of virtue and vice, and opening the gates to corruption of the deep- 
est and darkest dye. 

" As President of the old Massachusetts Agricultural Society, I have 
laid before our trustees your representations to me in quality of Presi- 
dent of the Berkshire Agricultural Society. I am sorry to be obliged to 
say, that those gentleman are clearly of opinion, they could not comply 
with your request, consistently with the design of the institution, or the 
letter and spirit of our charter. 

" I am respectfully and affectionately your friend, 

" John Adams. 
" Elkanah Watson, Pittsfield" 



"Quinoy, August IliA, 1812. 

" Respected Sir : — Our country is in a high fever, — so is all Europe, 
— so are the four quarters of the globe. Who first contracted or gener- 
ated disease 1 Montreal was no sooner surrendered, in 1759, than the 
conqueror of Canada was discarded from the English Cabinet ; a simple 
maniac ascended the throne ; and a Machiavellian maniac who had 
been his preceptor, became his prime minister. The design was con- 
ceived, of enslaving these Colonies they pretended to favor. The Col- 
onies resisted, and France assisted, as the vain, pedantic, delirious Scot 
might have foreseen, if he had possessed common sense. 

" France, by assisting America, was taught some confused notions of 
liberty, and became delirious in her turn ; and her delirium deranged 
all Europe and all the globe. What can cure this epidemic 1 Dr. Rush 
says, nothing but copious phlebotomy can cure the yellow fever ; and 
almost all the physicians are now converts to his opinion. Who is to 
blame? Is not Britain the great disturber? and has not France acted 
on the defensive throughout the whole squabble? These are bold 
questions, which neither you nor I dare answer. 

" The pretty, little, innocent, amiable singing-bird, ■ could pour 



i8i2.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 437 

out his notes like a Bob-o'-Lincoin, and charm the chorus of the forest, 
while he dogmatized on subjects which he understood not. But with all 
my childish vanity, I confess myself wholly unable to comprehend this 
vast system of Providence, in which I have been employed as a feeble 
instrument, for more than fifty years. As far as my feeble short-sighted 
faculties can reach, Great Britain appears to me to have been the prin- 
cipal aggressor, and the original disturber of the human race, for the last 
half century. 

" Two great ameliorations of terrestrial existence have already re- 
sulted : the freedom of religion, and the emancipation of the Africans. 
What ulterior blessings are in store, I leave to the Father of Mercies. 
If greater calamities, I bow to the chastising rod. 

" Siberian wheat, my brother farmer, is a very small object, to follow 
subjects that comprehend the whole globe and all our species. It is 
worthy attention, however, and investigation, and fair experiment. 
During the Revolutionary war, when you were in Europe, Siberian 
wheat was much in vogue in this town. Mr. Josiah Quincy, the grand- 
father of the present member of Congress, procured and sowed a few 
bushels of it. He succeeded very well, had a fine crop which suffered 
nothing from the Hessian fly, mildew, blasting, or weavil. Enthusiasm 
was excited in the neighborhood ; all he could spare was purchased at 
a high price for sowing. My wife purchased some bushels, — others 
more. Quincy himself sowed the greatest part of all he had. Expecta- 
tions were high, that it would become the staple of New England. The 
next year we all failed, every plant of it blasted ; and seed, labor, and 
all, were totally lost. Notwithstanding all this, I have no doubt, that 
wheat may be raised in Massachusetts, as well as anywhere else ; but 
the land must be under proper cultivation, particularly manured abun- 
dantly, — the seed sown so early, that it may be forward and vigorous 
enough to bear the winter, and start early enough in the spring to shoot 
the grain and ear forward, before the season of insects. But this pro- 
cess, which I know has succeeded and will succeed, is expensive ; and 
the wheat will not procure a price equal to the labor. What is the rea- 
son of this ? Here lies the mystery. No Russian seed will retrieve this. 

" We say and we say truly, that agriculture and commerce are sisters, 
and their interests mutual and consistent; but the misfortune is, that 
individuals and masses of both orders of men, do not always understand 
the existence of both interests, and, instead of endeavoring to reconcile 
them, employ all their policy and influence to counteract each other. 
The merchants, in all the seaports, have always discouraged the growth 



438 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1812. 

of wheat in the provinces of the State. Why 1 Because they supply us 
with flour from New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, etc., and 
this article constitutes an important link in the chain of their commerce. 
There is nothing the farmer can raise, except barley and English hay, 
that can pay our labor ; even Indian corn costs us more than would buy 
it. Since my memory, the country prevailed to carry a law in the 
Legislature, granting a small bounty upon wheat. The effect, in two 
or three years, was an abundance of wheat at market, as good as ever 
was raised. The bounties demanded of the treasury, amounted to so 
large a sum, that the seaport towns, alarmed, set up a popular clamor 
against the expense, and got the law repealed. The cry about barberry 
bushes, sea air, and even the judgment of Heaven for persecuting the 
Quakers, have all, T have no doubt, arisen from the same source. You 
will never get Siberian wheat or any other wheat to grow in New Eng- 
land, in quantities to constitute a steady staple, without an expensive 
cultivation ; and that expense will never be repaid while wheat, rye, 
and corn have such a formidable rival in commerce. 

" New York has a great advantage over us, in her soil and climate. 
The pure breed of Merino sheep, I hope, will be cherished to the utmost 
extent, and the mixture of them ; but I hope our old breed will not be 
neglected. Superfine cloths are consumed in this country, in much less 
quantities than fine cloths, you may depend on it. I could say much 
more in elucidation, but perhaps I should say too much. I could say 
something about hemp, flax, mulberries, silk-worms, silk, silk-stockings, 
Timothy Ruggles and Hartwick Fairs. Agricultural patriotism is one 
thing, and mercantile patriotism another, in our dearly beloved Massa- 
chusetts : both equally sincere, both equally bona fide. 

" Your Berkshire Agricultural Society and our Massachusetts Society 
for promoting agriculture, will assuredly quarrel and go to war, as 
naturally as England and the United States, — as England and France, 
— unless both are managed with great prudence, delicacy, caution, and 
circumspection. 

" Sat verbum ! How is it, that agriculture and commerce are rivals 
in France, England, Holland, and what tremendous consequences have 
resulted from these rivalries? The history of mankind might show ; 
and a history of this rivalry would be worth more than ThucydideSj 
Tacitus, Hume, and Gibbon. 

" I am, Sir, with usual esteem and regard, your friend, 

" John Adams, 
" Elkanah Watson, Esq." 



i8i2.j Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 439 

"Qitincy, Sept., mh, 1812. 

" Dear Sir : — Inter arma silent leges, is what we call an old saying. 
I hope that scientice will not be added. Full fifty-five years, have I ob- 
served, inquired, read, and tried experiments, to raise wheat in New 
England. The result is total despair. Let me tell you, my friend, 
there are no fanatics in religion, — no visionaries in philosophy, — no he- 
roes in an army, — no, nor any misses in dancing and music, — more en- 
thusiastic, than the devotees of agriculture and horticulture. They are 
more harmless and more innocent, to be sure. You will get no aid from 
Boston. Commerce, literature, science, theology, are against you ; — 
nay, medicine, history, and University, and universal politics might be 
added. I cannot, — I will not be more explicit. * 

" The fall of Hull may have thunderstruck all ; but it was clearly 
foreseen and confidently predicted by some, to my knowledge. Not an 
ant-hill, not a single atom of Arnoldism was in the business ; but sheer 
ignorance, inconsideration and incapacity enough, both in administra- 
tion and execution. If one grain of common sense had been used, noth- 
ing would have been attempted, without a commanding force upon all 
the lakes. As to illuminations and rejoicings at Montreal, I should not 
wonder if they should threaten to march to Boston, New- York, and Phil- 
adelphia, and conquer the United States, from Mississippi to St. Croix, 
as confidently as Hull threatened to overwhelm Upper Canada. Now, 
the tomahawk will compel the southern States to be warlike, or to do 
justice to the northern, by consenting to a navy. 

" Your friend, etc. 

" John Adams. 
" Elkanah Watson, Esq." 



' III 



I , ; III 




Examining a Pkylactei-y. Page 448. 



CHAPTER XV II I. 



General Hull. 



The reference, in the letter of Mr. Adams, to the campaign 
of General Hull, appropriately introduces a brief note of the 
latter, addressed to Mr. Watson, a few weeks 
before the close of his disastrous expedition. 
Cordial and intimate relations of friendship had subsisted be- 
ween them, for many years. The chivalric courage and 
marked ability which had distinguished the services of Gen- 
eral Hull in the war of the Kevolution, had led Mr. Watson, 
in common with the mass of the nation, to form the highest 
anticipation of a brilliant and successful issue to his campaign. 
Under the excitement of these exhilarating emotions, Mr. 
Watson gave expression to them, at a political festival on 
July 4th, 1812, in the following toast, which, from the events 



i8i2.] Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 441 

of a few weeks, subjected him to numerous paper pellets and 
pasquinades from the anti-war presses : — " General Hull and 
his gallant army of farmers and veterans, have opened the 
ball in the west ; may they conquer the British allies by kind- 
ness, and lead down the dance along the northern shores of 
the lakes and St. Lawrance, joining other partners in their 
progress, — together foot it up to Quebec, to the tune of Yan- 
kee Doodle." 

I present the letter without comment, believing that it con- 
tains a revelation of views and sentiments, 
which exerted a powerful influence in produc- to Mr? wSson. 
ing the fatal occurrences that soon after took 
place. 

" Camp Meigs, on Mad River, near Dayton, May Slst, 1812. 
" My Dear Friend : — The enclosed papers will show you my situa- 
tion, I am in good health, in a tent, and lying on the ground. To- 
morrow, I march to St. Mary's, a branch of Miami of Lake Erie, in 
the midst of Indian villages. There I shall wait for Boyd's regiment 
and some regulars from Pittsburg, which will join me in a few days. 
I shall thence commence my march through the wilderness, to Detroit. 
I have on hand a difficult and responsible command. I hope to be able 
to do good to my country. The Indians at present appear very hostile ; 
if I can conquer them by kindness and justice, I shall be very happy ; 
if not, the other mode must be practised. God bless you, your dear wife, 
and charming family. 

w In haste, sincerely and affectionately, 

" W.Hull. 
" Elka.nah Watson, Esq." 

The following extract from a letter of General Hull's dated 
Detroit, 30th November, 1807, presents an interesting detail 
of his valuable Indian negotiation, and the attitude of public 
affairs in that department. 

" I had received a commission from the President, to hold a treaty 
with the Indians northwest of the Ohio, and had every reason to sup- 
pose it would have been concluded in June, or July at furthest. By 
19* 



442 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1812. 

the state of public affairs, and indeed by circumstances which I could 
not control, it was not finished until the 17th inst. I was obliged to ad- 
vance the money for the expense, and could not draw with propriety, 
until the business was accomplished. I am happy to inform you that 
it is now finished to my satisfaction, and I have forwarded the bills to 
Mr. Ramsey. 

" By this treaty, for the consideration of fifty thousand dollars, I have 
purchased from the Indians more than five millions of acres, extending 
from Fort Defiance on the Miami, about two hundred and sixty miles 
upon that river, Lake Erie, the river Detroit, Lake St. Clair, the river 
St. Clair, and Lake Huron, comprehending all the rivers which fall into 
these waters, with all the islands in the same. The land is of an ex- 
cellent quality, and well situated for improvement. It is, perhaps, the 
most advantageous purchase the United States have ever made. Every 
Chief has signed the treaty who has been requested, and all appear per- 
fectly satisfied. I had many difficulties, but fortunately surmounted 
them. The influence of the British, the Prophet, the settlers on the land 
without any title, persons who had purchased from the Indians, unlaw- 
fully and without right, large tracts of the territory, all opposed it. We 
have built a stockade and block-houses around the town, and are 
obliged to be vigilant. 

" I have no information by which I can determine, whether we are 
to have peace or war with England. Every effort of the British has 
been exerted to render the Indians hostile to us ; every exertion on my 
part has been used to keep them quiet. I hope, and pray God, that I 
may be successful." 

In a feeling letter of later date, General Hull gives utter- 
ance to wliat were, doubtless, his honest and sincere convic- 
tions, of his own integrity, and that he had been pursued by 
unjust reproach and opprobrium. 

" Albany, January lZth, 1814. 

" Dear Sir : — I have this moment read your letter of the 3d instant. 
I shall made no other reply to the circumstances to which you allude, 
than to make this sincere declaration, that I never could have believed 
my old friend Watson could have presumed, that I have been guilty of 
a dishonorable action by which I had in any degree forfeited his friend- 
ship, until it was proven, or that his warm and candid heart would have 



i8i3.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 443 

presumed any thing "but innocence and honor, until the contrary was 
made to appear by stronger evidence than popular clamor and preju- 
dice. My old friends are dear to me, and deservedly to lose them, 
would be among the greatest evils I could be called upon to endure. 
It is my happiness, that I now have an opportunity to vindicate my 
character and conduct. 

u That part of the letter which refers to Mrs. Watson, has most sen- 
sibly affected me. My friendship to her will only end with my life. 
She is an ornament of her sex, and has the warmest wish of my heart 
for her happiness, here and hereafter. 

" A consciousness of having served my country with fidelity and 
honor, affords consolation, which nothing can deprive me of. What- 
ever events may take place, with respect to myself, you, your excellent 
wife, and amiable children, have my best wishes. 

" I am, without any change, most sincerely, your friend, 

"W. Hull. 
"E. Watson, Esq." 

The letter subjoined, from Eobert Fulton, in reference to a 
torpedo experiment upon a British ship in 
Lynnhaven bay will be read with interest. Eobert Fulton. 

"New Tokk, August 14th, 1813. 
" Mr. Watson : 

M Sir : — Mr. Mix, who made the experiment against the Plantagenet 
74 in Lynnhaven bay, is one of my captains. The engine was within 
ten feet of blowing her to atoms, and proving to the world a new art in 
war, of immense importance to our much insulted and injured country. 
His failure was only a small error in practice ; no fault of principle. 
It has given useful experience, and he is still persevering in high spirits 
and confident of success. As government does not allow any fund for 
this kind of enterprise, I have been at the whole expense for three 
months, in sending out various parties, who in some instances have 
been prevented from acting by our own citizens. Governor Haslett of 
Delaware would not let my men attack a " seventy-four" near Lewis, 
after their outfit had cost me two thousand dollars. 

" I have now expended four thousand dollars, and find that prudence 
will not allow me to go on under such heavy expenses ; hence, for want 
of funds to persevere to success, a most glorious discovery may lie dor- 
mant and useless to our country for ages. You say, you can raise 



444 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1814. 

funds. If you can and will, it will "be a most praiseworthy, patriotic, 
and honorable act in you and all who give their aid ; and as the re- 
ward from government, in case of success, is ample, I can only say, 
that for every hundred dollars paid, I will return three hundred if we 
succeed, when government pays, that is, the capital with two hundred 
per cent. This, in fact, is better that privateering, and is encouraging 
to subscribers. Hence, Sir, collect any amount, not exceeding for the 
present five thousand dollars ; for that, I believe, will be sufficient. 
Lend any sum on this condition, if not more than five hundred dollars. 
" I am, Sir, respectfully, your most obedient, 

" Robert Fulton. 
" Elkanah Watson, Esq. 

" Please let me hear from you as soon as possible." 

It is known, that circumstances arrested the pursuit of these 
measures by Mr. Fulton. It is just and proper I should state, 
that, in making these overtures to Mr. Fulton, my father was 
actuated by no pecuniary motive, as might be inferred from 
the reply. These considerations were intended to be addressed 
to others, but I know he was impelled, solely, by his deep 
abhorrence of the sanguinary atrocities committed on our 
coast by the enemy, and by an earnest desire for the expul- 
sion of their ships from our waters. The fervor and enthu- 
siasm of this feeling, will appear from the following patriotic 
effusion, embraced in an address before the Berkshire So- 
ciety, in October, 1814, which drew upon him 

Address before . 

the Berkshire the severe animadversion of some presses of 
Society. ^ e "p eace party." The salutary admonitions, 

breathed in this ardent language, and addressed to a former 
generation, may be listened to with profit, at the present day. 
"It is proper, at this time, to glance at the aspect of the 
times, at least in reference to their bearing upon our manu- 
factures. On a former occasion, I expressed to you strong 
apprehensions of the fatal effects which would result from 
our party divisions, ' that they would eventually open a dan- 
gerous inlet, to admit sooner or later the hungry wolves of 



1814.J Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 445 

Europe to fatten upon our follies.' Threatening clouds were 
then evidently gathering in our political horizon, — the storm 
has gradually approached our borders, — heavy clouds and 
thick darkness now rest upon us, — and our country, so dear 
to us all, is bleeding at every vein. Freemen are at length 
goaded into action, hand in hand, and heart in heart ; they 
have aroused from their fatal lethargy, in the majesty of their 
strength, for the defence of that liberty, — of that Independ- 
ence which Washington defended. We invoke his de- 
parted spirit to witness, that Americans will never consign 
their descendants, to become debased colonists, bound in 
chains and fetters. 

11 The old revolutionary motto, l United we stand, divided 
we fall, 1 applies strongly to the present times. Yes, my 
countrymen, if we continue united, we shall stand like a rock 
amid the dashing elements, and hold in derision the angry 
waves that spend themselves at our feet. This digression 
may appear, to some, foreign to the peaceful walks of our 
Society. Professing as we do, and it being also enjoined 
upon us by our charter, to be the patrons of American manu- 
factures, we must constantly keep in view the aspect of the 
times, and the necessity of relying on ourselves exclusively 
for these supplies, so essential to our wants, and the support 
of the vast armies now called into the field to protect our 
rights, and to avenge our wrongs. 

" Oar country is invaded, at various points. Our capitol 
is burnt by modem Goths and Vandals, — a deep stain is 
stamped on the page of our history, — it must, it will be 
effaced. The cry l To arms, to arms/ resounds on every 
side, — in cities, in villages, in valleys, on our hill-tops, — all 
is motion and military array. One hundred and twenty 
thousand freemen are now in arms, an 1 half a million in re- 
serve. Our roads are alive with young men seeking our ene- 
mies, while the aged and exempts are forming into military 



446 Men and Times of the Revolution; [i8i5. 

associations. What have we to fear? It is impossible, that 
freeborn Americans can be doomed, like East Indians, to be 
1 hewers of wood and drawers of water' to the lordly syco- 
phants of Europe. Eather than surrender an iota of a national 
right, far better for us to see our cities wrapped in flames, 
and our fields drenched with blood, if the remnant who live 
can say, We have a second time saved our liberties and have 
confirmed our independence. A deadly blow, conceived by 
profligate men in the chambers of darkness and infamy, is 
levelled at the vitals of our union and independence. 

" Blessed be God, this is the last generation of Englishmen 
who will dare to assail the rights of Americans. The time is 
rapidly approaching, when our population will far exceed 
theirs. Here also is the last asylum of liberty, exiled from 
the corrupted countries of guilty Europe ; let us cherish and 
embrace the fair fugitive, in this land of hope and promise, 
that the whole human family may eventually be blessed with 
our freedom. 

" Our enemies knew not, — they never knew, the true char- 
acter of this people, although bone of their bone, and flesh 
of their flesh. They had known our kindred vices, but not 
our national virtues. The present crisis is unfolding them to 
their view. 

" It is time to repel from our shores, and sweep from our 
territory, the unblushing allies of savages, who, after the 
lapse of the third of a century, again pollute our soil, by 
their detestable footsteps. They come from the opposite 
shores of the Atlantic, their hands reeking with blood, — fa- 
miliar with carnage and death, to plunge their infernal weap- 
ons into the bosoms of unoffending freemen. 

" Their hostile fleets are spreading their wings along our 
coast, and their predatory crafts are carrying destruction into 
our very rivers and harbors." 

I introduce the following extract from a letter of the Hon. 



i8i5.J Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 447 

John W. Hurlbut, at its date, the Federal Kepresentative in 
Congress from the Berkshire District, to illus- 
trate the views there entertained, by prominent j et ^ Huribut. 
Federalists, of a conspicuous and decisive meas- 
ure in the history of their party ; but, more particularly, to 
exhibit the character of the internal intercourse which at that 
period existed in the country. To us, it must appear almost 
incredible, that intelligence of so momentous an event as the 
victory of New Orleans, which was achieved on the 8th of 
January, should not have reached the Capitol on the 30th of 
that month. 

In contemplating this extraordinary circumstance, we 
should take into consideration the undoubted fact, that the 
government had used every facility it could then control, to 
accelerate the conveyance of intelligence between these im- 
portant points. 

It is only justice for me to remark, that Mr. Hurlbut, al- 
though apparently approving of the action of the Hartford 
convention, was not less distinguished for the fervor of his 
political sentiments, than for his singular genius and elo- 
quence. The letter bears date, Washington, January 30th, 
1815. 

Cl New Orleans excites great attention here. The fate of the 
city is very doubtful. Yesterday, the news was very favor- 
able. To-day, we have been informed, that General Picton 
has joined the British force, and that four thousand troops 
under his command were hourly expected, to reinforce the 
enemy. 

" The enemy, it is supposed, is pouring into Georgia. It is 
feared, Savannah will be captured. 

" The President has to-day returned the Bank Bill to the 
Senate, having refused to sign it ; so, the bill will not be- 
come a law. 

" What say you of the doings of the Hartford Convention? 
I am highly pleased with them." 



448 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1814. 

Massachusetts was, perhaps, more deeply agitated than any 
other State by the bitterness and vehemence of the party 
spirit, which, during the war of 1812, con- 
Poiiticai vulsed the Union. Pittsfield was then a mili- 

Massachusetts. tary depot; and the presence of the troops 
which revolted the sentiments of one party, 
probably in that place aggravated the intensity of party 
feeling. Under the influence of this excitement, personal 
collisions often occurred. Wide alienations were produced ; 
social intercourse between members of the different parties 
was suspended ; the young, in their youthful festivities, re- 
fused to mingle together; churches and religious societies 
were rent asunder ; and, in assembling at their respective sanc- 
tuaries, people were divided by their political names and 
affinities. Many patriotic Federalists, however, rising above 
the restraints of party, entered the army, or sustained the 
government in its measures as they related to the foreign foe. 

During the residence of Mr. Watson in Pittsfield, an inci- 
dent occurred, of considerable archaeological interest, which 
at the time excited much discussion among theologians, and 
awakened the vigilant researches of antiquaries. The specu- 
lations it tended to confirm, and the evidences 
Speculations. ^ afforded, were elaborately discussed in va- 
rious publications, some of which emanated 
from distinguished sources. The facts are presented in the 
following letter of Mr. Watson, in reply to some inquiries 
addressed to him on the subject, by Doctor Williamson. 
The hypothesis advanced by Mr. Watson is strengthened by 
the following circumstances, to which he does not allude, but 
which appear in several other productions, that the incident 
called forth. 

The eminence upon which the phylactery was discovered, 
was known at an early period as Indian Hill ; and, as it is stated 
upon the authority of a late aged divine of Berkshire, " an 



i8i5.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 449 

old Indian had informed him, that his father had long been 
in possession of a book, which was preserved until it had 
been at length deposited in the grave of an Indian Chief." 

it Pittsfield, November 10£ft, 1815. 
11 To Hugh Williamson : 

" Dear Sir : — In conformity with your request to ascertain all the 
facts, in relation to the interesting discovery of a Jewish phylactery in 
this village, in June last, I reply. It was ploughed up in the yard of 
Mr. Joseph Merrick, a respectable inhabitant who resides on the bor- 
ders of the village, in the midst of rubbish, and lying some inches be- 
low the suface. 

" Immediately on hearing the rumor of the discovery, I repaired to 
the house of Mr. Merrick, where I found several clergymen, whose 
curiosity was greatly excited by the strange incident, and who be- 
lieved with me, that the article must have found its way into this re- 
cent wilderness, by the agency of some of the descendants of Israel. 

" I had previously read with intense interest on the subject, and was 
impressed with the belief, that the Indians of America were descended 
from the lost tribes of Israel ; and that they had been directed, by the 
same Almighty hand which had brought them out of the land of Egypt, 
to continue their journeyings in a northeasterly course, probably for 
many ages, and finally to reach this continent at Behring Strait ; yet, 
retaining some knowledge of the arts and sciences, and always adhering 
to the rites of the Jewish religion. After reaching this continent, and 
after the lapse of many years, and probably ages, some portions inclined to 
rest in the northern region, but most of them pursued a southern course, 
spreading in all directions, even to the southern extremity of South 
America, and north to the polar regions ; and thus peopling the whole 
surface of both Americas, more or less densely, according to the varied 
climates. Those in the extreme north and south, became the most sav- 
age, as in the milder regions they have been found the most civilized, 
and in possession of arts and sciences, especially in the City of Mexico 
and Peru. 

"It is not my purpose to write a treatise on this important subject, 
but merely to skim the surface, with a view to account, in some meas- 
ure, for this very interesting discovery. I think it must have originated 
from these sources. It is well known, even from Sacred Writ, that the 
Jews held their phylacteries, with the precious scroll enclosed, in reli- 
gious reverence. This discovery forms another link, in the evidence by 



450 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1816. 

which our Indians are identified with the ancient Jews, who were 
scattered upon the face of the globe, and to this day remain a living 
monument, to verify and establish the eternal truths of Scripture. 

" In order to understand the appearance of this discovery, imagine 
five pieces of leather or raw hide, or some composition similar to India 
rubber, and capable of resisting the ravages of time and exposure, cut 
into squares of two inches, sewed together with entrails. Suppose, also, 
a hole in the centre, half an inch in diameter, made to admit a tube two 
and a half inches long, with eyelet holes at the corners to receive 
strings, — and you will have an idea of the article. 

" This tube, as described by Mr. Merrick, was of such a hard spongy 
substance, that it was with great difficulty he could gain an opening at 
one of the sloping ends ; and it seemed absolutely impervious to moist- 
ure ; for, although the surface was incrusted in a manner to evince its 
having been probably exposed for many ages, I drew out from the tube 
three or four scrolls of parchment, which it contained when found, in- 
scribed with texts of Scripture, written in Hebrew, in an elegant manner, 
— the ink of a beautiful jet black. The parchment, writing, and ink, 
were all perfectly fresh." 

" Very respectfully, 

" E. Watson." 

In February, 18.16, Mr. Watson returned to his former res- 
idence in Albany ; thus abandoning, he says,- — 
Albany. 10 " a ^ ^h- ose rural scenes which had delighted me, 

— all my flocks and herds, which I had reared 
with infinite care for nearly nine years. In the midst of pro- 
moting agricultural improvements- and domestic industry, I 
returned to resume the dull and monotonous scenes of a city 
life." 

On his departure from the theatre of the labors and services 

I have briefly glanced at, he received numer- 

ofRespect 19 ous testimonials of social kindness and regard ; 

among these, the action of the Agricultural 

Society exhibits the appreciation, by its members, of his zeal 

and exertions in the promotion of its great interests. 



i8i6.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 451 



Extract from the Proceedings, at a Meeting of the Berkshire 
Agricultural Society, held on the 8th January, 1816. 

" Whereas it has come to the knowledge of the Berkshire 
Agricultural Society, that our late President, Elkanah Wat- 
son, Esq., is about to remove from this county, 

" Voted, That the President be instructed to convey to him 
the sentiments of regret of the Society, and the high sense it 
entertains of the important services he has rendered, by his 
patriotic efforts to promote Agriculture and Manufactures, 
and by his perseverance in the establishment of this interest- 
ing Institution. 

" Voted, That in order to perpetuate our gratitude to the 
founder of this Society, there shall be a premium offered, an- 
nually, for the best blooded Merino Buck, produced at the 
Pittsfield Cattle Show and Fair, of twelve dollars, to be called 
the 'Watson Cup, 7 and it shall be so inscribed thereon." 

The following is an extract from the letter of Thomas Mel- 
ville, Esq., President of the Society, communicating the pre- 
ceding Eesolutions: — " The Berkshire Agricultural Society, 
impressed with the conviction, that to your persevering 
efforts is due the creation of this valuable Institution, and 
that your presence among us would invigorate its measures, 
were deeply affected on being acquainted at their meeting 
yesterday, that you were about to remove from this county. 

" As highly gratifying as it is to be the organ of this i Hon- 
orable Testimony/ so it is equally painful to me to bid adieu, 
as a resident member, to the father of this Institution ; to 
whose experience and advice I have been so much indebted, 
ever since I have had the honor of being chosen to the place 
by him vacated." 

The policy calculated to foster and promote the manufac- 
turing interests of the country, was at all times regarded by 



452 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1789. 

Mr. Watson as of the highest national importance, dictated 
by wise considerations of political economy, 

Tariff Policy. J , . ,. ,, - r . , , . J \ 

and indispensable to the essential and practical 
independence of the republic. From the organization of the 
government to the close of his life, he was, without change, 
the ardent and zealous advocate of a tariff system which 
should cherish and sustain the feeble and precarious infancy 
of American manufactures. The subjoined extract from an 
article written by him at Norton, Massachusetts, in 1789, and 
published in the Boston papers, urges this sentiment, with 
much emphasis and with remarkable forecast, portraying, 
with almost historic fidelity, the true interest and the ap- 
proaching destiny of New England : — 

" The spirit of manufacturing has taken root in New Eng- 
land. We find the effort sustained by the enterprise of a few 
gentlemen, struggling against the opposition of importing 
merchants in our seaports ; and against the powerful artillery 
of the busy agents, and the irresistible capital of English 
manufacturers, determined to assail and strangle the scheme 
in its very cradle. It is impossible, that the feeble capital of 
country gentlemen, however ardent and patriotic they may 
be, can sustain the conflict, against such fearful odds, unless 
Congress shall protect and sustain them by heavy duties. 
Yet I have been delighted to see, at Taunton, in this vicinity, 
manufactories in iron, on a respectable scale. Indeed, I think 
that pleasant place bids fair to become, in time, the Sheffield 
of America. 

"At Norwich, they have stocking looms, and looms for 
weaving duck by water, — the invention of a native genius. 
At Hartford, woollen and glass factories have been erected ; 
but I am sorry to add, that these are in a sickly condition. 
It will far exceed my present limits, to enter into details on 
that head. As a general remark, I will venture to predict, 
however improbable under existing circumstances it may ap- 



1789-] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 453 

pear, — that New England is destined to become, at some fu- 
ture day, a serious competitor with Old Eng- 
land; and when that event takes place to a New^gfand. 
great extent, it will be the first prominent ad- 
monition to proclaim the downfall of the latter. The face of 
the country, the soil and climate, the genius and enterprise 
of the people, all are analogous. "We want nothing but age, 
capital, and a dense population. All the elements of a great 
manufacturing community, in a healthy country, abounding 
with waterfalls, insure such an ultimate result. The southern 
States will then receive our goods, in exchange for their 
prominent raw material, — cotton. Ten years ago I little 
thought of seeing, in my time, the evidences I already wit- 
ness, — the germ of rising manufactures. 

In the reign of Elizabeth, most of the wool grown in Eng- 
land was sent to Holland and Flanders, to be manufactured 
for the use of the English. At this time, the English supply 
half the human race with woollen cloths ; and are insensibly 
undermining the wealth and population of the very countries 
which formerly supplied them with these fabrics. In fact, 
woollens constitute the main basis of the wealth and glory of 
Old England ; as an emblem of which, her lord Chancellor 
is seated on a woolsack. To aid in supplanting the English, 
in this their favorite element, I mean, so far as in me lies, to 
preach to the people of New England, and to urge them to 
open their eyes and their ears, as to this great object, which 
will, in my opinion, form the main pillar of their future pros- 
perity and strength. All information on the subject should 
be collected and transmitted to the Congress acting under the 
new Constitution : they have the power to afford protecting 
duties. A merchant of Providence assured me, that cotton 
cards, made in this State and shipped thence to England, 
were sold at a handsome profit, after paying freight, etc., and 
that they were of a superior quality to those made in Eng* 



454 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1790- 

land. This seems to me the prelude to further triumphs, 

which will turn the scales, and astonish our former masters." 

The succeeding autumn, Mr. Watson attended, by request, 

the Berkshire Fair, and delivered an address, 

Address beforo from which I make the following extract, on 

the Berkshire 

Society. account of the patriotic emotions it breathes, 

and the lessons of practical admonitions it in- 
culcates, which will be read with interest and profit, from 
their adaptation to all times and places where the institutions 
of freedom exist. 

" My only object in addressing to you a, few words is, again 
to express my undiminished zeal for your prosperity and 
happiness, and to endeavor to impress on your minds the vast 
importance of continuing your labors. 

" Your measures, my friends, (with whom I have been so 
long accustomed to act in this pleasing and useful employ- 
ment,) are considered by the American nation, not as local-' 
ized, or identified with the immediate interests 
the Styf of Pittsfield, or Berkshire, or Massachusetts. 
No, gentlemen, I can say with pride and pleas- 
ure, the eyes of America are fixed on your patriotic course. 
For some weeks past, we^find the public papers, from Maine 
to Georgia, — from the Atlantic to the Mississippi, all teeming 
with the praises of your society, and holding it up to view, 
as worthy of general imitation. 

" Several agricultural societies are recently organized, others 
are in contemplation, and all avowedly on your model. It 
will be peculiarly grateful to every member of this Society to 
know, that the mother Society in this State is at length 
aroused from her lethargy, cautiously treading in your foot- 
steps. The week ensuing, they will exhibit their first cattle- 
show at Brighton. They are blessed with respectable funds, 
for years accumulating, but of no practical use to the com- 
munity thus far. They will now excite a laudable spirit of emu- 



1790.] Or, Memoirs of Mkanah Watson. 455 

lation in the vicinity of the capital ; and, from their powerful 
example, extensive benefits will doubtless spread in every 
direction. Your exemplary measures are considered national, 
since their influence is extending into every section of this great 
republic. With this truth in view, and well knowing how far 
this immediate community has been benefited by the visible 
and increasing effects resulting from a general excitement, 
every farmer in this county must be dead to his own interests, 
and dead to the honor of Berkshire, not to contribute his mite 
to a general fund, on which alone must depend the existence 
of this Society. Since practical experiments and keeping alive 
that excitement are the essential points in view, the more simple 
your future course, the greater will be public confidence. The 
only effectual measure to keep your wheels in motion is to 
oil them, — oil them, by an exact punctuality in your volun- 
tary engagements. A few annual drops of this oil, contributed 
by every farmer, will eventually overspread this country with 
wealth and happiness. 

u The present distressed condition of America is full of 
evidence, that we must fall back on our native resources, to 
a certain point. Although the shelves of our merchants and 
the stores of our custom-houses are loaded with foreign manu- 
factures, estimated at the frightful sum of two hundred 
millions of dollars, and selling off at half their intrinsic value, 
on the insidious calculation of destroying our manufactories, 
— although we are standing on the verge of a precipice which 
threatens universal desolation to the mercantile and manufac- 
turing portions of the nation, — yet it is grateful to the pat- 
riot's eye, to see so large a proportion of this respectable 
assemblage clad in homespun, on the increase of which, keep- 
ing pace in all probability with the increase of agricultural 
societies, will be found one of the main pillars in support of 
our substantial independence. In a word, my friends, we must 
practice the salutary lessons of economy, we must retrace the 



456 Men and Times of the Revolution; \M9 l - 

humble footsteps of our ancestors, or be enslaved to our credit- 
ors at home and abroad* 

" The pride of our females, in these gloomy times, (and 
much depends on their example,) should be, to be attired in 
the work of their own hands, and to see their fathers, their 
husbands, their brothers, nay, their lovers marching by their 
side, also clothed in homespun of their making. 

" We must buy less, — make more ; holding credit, as the 
bane and curse of this community; thus also holding the 
lawyers and sheriffs at defiance. All freemen would then 
rest in peace, under their own vines, and walk erect with a 
firm and manly step, truly the lords of the creation." 

Mr. Watson had scarcely become settled in the repose and 

quiet of his new residence, when applications were addressed 

to him from various sections of the country, soliciting his aid 

and advice, in the organization of agricultural societies upon 

the Berkshire model. In the autumn of the next year, he 

visited Otsego county, and efficiently co-oper- 

Society. ° Unty a ^ e( ^ ^ n ^ e formation, in that county, of the first 

society established in New- York, upon the new 

system. At the fair, he delivered an address, and proclaimed 

the premiums. Governor Clinton, in his inau- 

cniIto r n. 0r g ural t0 the Legislature at the session of 1818, 

urged with great force the establishment of a 

State Agricultural Society, of a Board of Agriculture, and, 

as a necessary relation, the institution of county societies. A 

joint committee on the subject, of both houses, submitted an 

elaborate report, sustaining and enforcing the suggestion of 

the Executive, and pressing the initiation of a system of state 

* Every subsequent year has realized the truth of this prediction, arising 
principally from excessive importations of foreign fabrics, also from habits 
of extravagance and dissipation. The evil is now at its height ; the whole 
community, in city and country, feel its dreadful effects. Although a severe, 
yet I trust it will prove a salutary lesson. March, 1820* 



1818.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 457 

patronage to its vast and expanding agricultural interests. 
The report comprehended an ample and de- 
tailed exhibition of the progress of agricultural Agriculture, 
improvements, the benefits of the application 
of science to husbandry, and the importance of developing 
the capabilities and resources of the State. This production 
was chiefly from the pen of Mr. Watson. 

Party spirit infused its malignant influence into the consid- 
eration of this subject, and impeded and eventually arrested 
all legislative action. The zeal and energetic efforts of Mr. 
Watson, at this crisis, subjected him to unworthy suspicions, 
and the most illiberal denunciations. He was openly assailed 
in the Legislature, and his patriotic labors were ascribed to 
selfish and personal ambition, and to the lust of office. 

I shall be pardoned for the declaration, that the ardent and 
protracted exertions of my father, in promoting the varied 
projects of public and local improvement which he agitated, 
could never have been actuated, by any purpose of official 
emolument, or for the attainment of position or influence. 
While he disbursed, in the prosecution of these objects, large 
sums from his own estate, and by his devotion to public in- 
terests deeply impaired his private fortune, he in no instance, 
although often solicited to do so, occupied any official position 
that conferred emoluments, and never received one dollar, 
for the renumeration of any of these services, from the public 
treasury. 

Mr. Watson devoted several succeeding years, almost ex- 
clusively to an extensive and most voluminous 
correspondence, spreading throughout the ^VeTpondence 
Union and to Europe, in advancing the general 
cause of agriculture, in diffusing the results of his own ex- 
perience and observation, and in aiding the organization of 
agricultural societies. 

In addition to these labors, he personally assisted in the 
20 



458 Men and Times of the Revolution; f l8l 9- 

formation of county societies in Oneida, Schoharie, Mont- 
gomery, Eensselaer, New York, arid other coun- 

cuiturai Societies. ^ es ? attended their Fairs, and delivered at each 
formal addresses. His office, as was said of 
him by numerous correspondents, was that of an Agricul- 
tural Missionary. 

In the absence of a Board of Agriculture, Mr. Watson vir- 
tually assumed its laborious and expansive duties, and dis- 
charged many of its appropriate functions, 
cfrcufar. Thus, in 1818, he issued a personal circular to 

the American Consuls in various countries, 
urging them to aid in the introduction of improved animals, 
seeds, and implements. 

In numerous instances, these appeals received liberal and 
patriotic responses, in the transmission of valuable varieties 
of foreign seeds. These he widely disseminated, through the 
medium of county societies and other effective agencies. Sev- 
eral of the varieties of grain introduced by this instrumental- 
ity, proved of the highest value, and became the predominant 
staples in some districts of the State. 

As a type of the agricultural intercourse to which I have 
referred, and suggestive of its character and value, I intro- 
duce the following letters from Judge Peters, 
J udffe* Peters eminent as a jurist, and very conspicuous as an 
agricultural economist and writer. It derives 
value from the practical suggestions and philosophical views 
of the writer* 

" Belmont, 21st August, 1819. 

"Dear Sir: — In answer to your letter, I shall at all times cheer- 
fully co-operate with you, in the good cause in which you take so much 
interest. It is high time, that some younger champion should substi- 
tute himself and suffer you to be at rest. You are an itinerant mis- 
sionary, gathering your own congregation. You have hearers, whereas 
I have been for some fifty years a stationary preacher, and until lately 
have delivered discourses to empty benches. 



1824.] Or , Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 459 

" Magna est Veritas et prevalebit. 

" I am rejoiced at the present agricultural zeal. What a garden 
would our country have been, if one-half the spirit now exhibited had 
shown itself half a century ago. I shall send you some salt pamphlets. 
I am desirous you should receive them, because you will find developed 
the means of renovating the sandy land of your friends, at Plymouth, 
and other places on the sea-board. They must make themselves mas- 
ters of the subject, by experiments on the quantities of sea-sand or salt 
applicable to their lands per acre. In New Jersey, on some parts of the 
coast, the farmers apply sea-sand to the most barren and unpromising 
sandy soils, with great effect, and yet with little judgment or care. If 
some principles, and some regard to circumstances both as to quantity 
applied, time of application, and mode of preparation, were established, 
how much more would be made of this powerful auxiliary of their hus- 
bandry. Sand applied to sand is contrary to all known principles. The 
magic power lies in the salt, and not in the mixture of soil. Sand with 
loom and (better) clay is known to be efficacious. The salt of the sea- 
sand must alone be the cause of the fertility. 

" You ask me, what I think of plaster on the sea-coast or on salted 
grounds, with sedge, sea-weed, and other products of the shores or 
marshes on coasts. My reply is, that I should prefer the salt sand, salt 
or salt grass, without the plaster. I am certain, the great balance of 
facts has been unfavorable to grounds plastered on sea-coast, or with 
salted manures. Sea-sand, or salt, should be ploughed in, in the au- 
tumn, to prevent evaporating, unless used as a top dressing. The clay- 
burning manure is hobby-horsical with me. I am apt to set other peo- 
ple at doing what I am too old to do myself. 

" Yours, very truly, 
* " Richard Peters. 

"Elkanah Watson." 

A second letter from Judge Peters, of a later date, and on 
a different subject, possesses intrinsic interest, and singularly 
exhibits the expansion of Mr. "Watson's zeal in promoting the 
success of all objects of public improvement. 

" Belmont, 18th April, 1824. 

" Dear Sir : — I have been waiting, before I answered your letter on 
the subject of your usually zealous propensity to encourage agricultu- 



460 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1824. 

ral prosperity, and in relation to our Schuylkill and Susquehanna com- 
munications, for some indisputable proofs, that Mr. Wright, for whom 
we all entertain much respect, had spoken unadvisedly, and contrary 
to his usual caution on the latter subject. I separated the parts of 
your letter, and sent extracts of the agricultural part to our Agricultural 
Society in Philadelphia, where it was received with the estimation due 
to it. I have requested some of the members, to inquire for and send 
you some of the wheat you desire, if it be now practicable. I have 
also given the information respecting the wheat which resists the fly, 
to an old society I formed in my neighborhood thirty-seven or thirty- 
eight years ago, styled the Blockley and Marion Society for Promoting 
Agricultural and Rural Economy. I have no doubt proper advantage 
will be taken of your kind information. 

" As to the gloomy forebodings of ; the total failure' of our canal and 
lock navigation, coming from so respectable a judge of such matters as 
is Mr. Wright, I was made very uneasy. I have no shares in the stock, 
and am only interested as are all the community who will profit by 
public improvement. I cautiously communicated this part of your let- 
ter to one or two gentlemen from whom 1 knew 1 could obtain candid 
information. The result is, that I am persuaded Mr. Wright's prophecy 
is by no means justifiable. He has taken facts too much on trust ; for 
it so turns out, that he has never seen a foot of the ground or viewed 
any of the works on the river. I have a letter from a disinterested and 
intelligent friend, who had a conversation with Mr. Wright on the sub- 
ject. He thought, and perhaps very justly, that the Navigation Com- 
pany was wasting the water, which ought to be exclusively devoted to 
the canals, leading from their dams to water-power for mills and ma- 
chinery ; and that such erections should be placed on the sides of the 
Schuylkill, opposite the canals. I have myself always been of this 
opinion. It will probably be found so on experience, and can be 
changed at pleasure, so as to avoid ' a total loss,' and very little even of 
a partial one. I have never been a friend to damming rivers, for in- 
ternal navigation. I agree with Brindley that, for such purposes, 
4 rivers are only to be used for filling canals.' 

" The canal from the Schuylkill to the waters of the Susquehanna 
has progressed successfully thirty-five miles towards its ultimate object, 
and will be completed this year ; and this is an important link in the 
chain of communication with the lakes. Mr. Wright never saw any 
part of this, so that his infidelity is under the description of that of faith 
iu the good Book, which is said to be the ' evidence of things not seen.' 



1824.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson, 461 

The most difficult of the whole of this canal is finished, to the satisfac- 
tion of the managers, who are intelligent men, and confident of success 
in the remaining part of the communication. Indeed, a great proportion 
of what is called the river navigation consists of canals. It so happens, 
too, that the managers have anticipated your well-intentioned recom- 
mendation, and the work is under the direction of pupils of Mr. Wright, 
who have no control in their opinions, and possess the confidence of the 
managers. 

" Every thing therefore, is agreeable to your own views of the subject. 
I knew your object was merely to do a service to an undertaking falling 
in with your long-indulged and meritorious propensities. Mr. Wright, 
I fondly hope and believe, is mistaken, but nobody imputes to him un- 
worthy motives. Even if those who are elated with the highly honor- 
able success of the stupendous New York Canals, had pronounced the 
fate of ours, we should not have imputed it to any thing but the con- 
sciousness of superiority, and not to invidious reflections. ' The eagle 
suffers little birds to sing.' 

" If we cannot equal your great work, we are endeavoring to arrive 
at the same point, by a passage comparatively inferior, but to us all-im- 
portant. I hope I may be mistaken in my objections to river naviga- 
tion, by dams, and I should be very glad of being found in error, even 
if alone ; but I should be kept from being ashamed of an erroneous opin- 
ion, when Mr. Wright bore me company. 

" Accept the sincere assurance of my being very truly yours, 

" Richard Peters. 

" Elkanah Watson." 

The correspondence of Mr. Watson with the Agricultural 
Society of Hartford County, Connecticut, which occurred in 
the year 1818, presents him in a different atti- 
tude in his relation to agricultural movements j^^of 1 " 81 
of that period, and shows the nature of the Hartford 
services in that cause which he was habitually necticut. 
called upon to discharge. He refers, in his 
journal, to this Society, in the following language : — 
" Although my labors for the promotion of agriculture and 
manufactures have generally been ardent, and engaged, levy- 
ing heavy contributions on my feeble purse, I know of no 



462 Men and Times of the Revolution; - [1818. 

place with the exception of my favorite Berkshire, where I 
have labored with more effect than in Hartford, Connecticut, 
by stimulating their measures, on the Berkshire plan. These 
efforts have contributed essentially, to diffuse the system 
through that enlightened State, and subsequently by the 
influence of emigrants, into various counties of Ohio. In this 
view, I trust that the subjoined correspondence, which led to 
such results, will be deemed worthy of preservation. 

Extract from a Letter to Henry L. Ellsworth, Corresponding Secre- 
tary of the Hartford Agricultural Society. 

" Albany, 2d January, 1818. 

" Sir: — I have received a letter from David Porter, Esq., Chairman 
of the Viewing Committee of your patriotic Society, requesting explana- 
tion of the Two-Furrow Plough, mentioned in my Address to the Otsego 
County Agricultural Society, on the 14th of October last, enclosing also 
your By-Laws, and requesting my remarks on the former. 

" I owe to Mr. Porter a respectful reply, through you, as the organ of 
your Society, as I feel a deep interest in your success, so important in 
its ultimate effects upon the respectable State of Connecticut. With 
respect to the plough, the enclosed will furnish an answer ; but I can- 
not resist the impulse to observe, in natural frankness, that to find a 
people so intelligentand so highly advanced as those of Connecticut, so 
singularly ignorant of the science of agriculture in its first practical 
principles, surprises me ; above all, that — should have been unin- 
formed as to the existence of the Two-Furrow Plough in England. 

" You have a glorious field spread out before you. Your foundations 
are firmly established, resting upon men of eminence ; — you have much 
to do, aside from the general interest of your immediate community ; — 
you will derive infinite pleasure in your progress, from the conscious 
pride of patriotism, that you are promoting the welfare and happiness 
of thousands at every step. 

" But, rely upon it, that your success will depend upon the steady and 
active efforts of three or four efficient men of business habits, who will 
devote themselves to details. 

" With respect to the By-Laws, I had already sent for them, and can- 
didly admit, that they are an improvement on those of Berkshire, al- 
though founded on that basis. I regret, however, that you have not 



i8i8.J Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 463 

added premiums on household manufactures, so essential and so identi- 
fied with the cause of agriculture. Beside the pleasure you all will 
derive (as we have done) from enlisting the female portion of the com- 
munity in your pursuits, in all that relates to domestic manufactures, 
rest assured, that by adding their presence, you will soon call forth all 
their energies. Permit me, therefore, most earnestly to recommend the 
addition to your first section, after the words ' Rural Economy,' the 
words ' and Household Manufactures.' 

" I am wholly ignorant of your course, your means, or immediate 
views ; but I am delighted to find, that you have already adopted town 
committees, and a viewing Committee of Agriculture, on the Berkshire 
model. In answer to Mr. P., as to the Viewing Committee, I beg leave 
to refer him to my Address before the Ostego Society. Again, you 
ought, in the course of this month, to publish your list of premiums, 
and fix on your place of Exhibition next fall. 

" I doubt not, that your salutary example will produce great and ex- 
tensive effects ; particularly, should you be induced to assign one-third 
of your premiums exclusively to females, not less than four hundred 
dollars, chiefly in spoons and tea apparatus, in solid silver. This will 
doubtless require extra means. Fifty gentlemen, subscribing each ten 
dollars, will do the business, and I shall be proud to open the ball as 
one. 

M The stake is great, the first impulse all-important, and you should, 
as we did in Berkshire, proclaim liberal premiums, with an empty 
treasury, and rely on a good Providence for relief. We were never dis- 
appointed ; every year, our efforts were crowned with glorious success. 

" Permit me further to advise you, to direct the attention of the farm- 
er to the Viewing Committee, and to commence preparatory measures, 
even this winter, as respects compost manures, preparing for their fences, 
and repairing their buildings : also, to request all the intended candi- 
dates for premiums to notify you, by June, of their objects, residences, 
etc., preliminary to the grand review in July next. Lest I weary your 
patience, I will close with a tender of my best services, in every way in 
my power ; and I shall be highly gratified, should it be possible to as- 
sist you in person at your first essay, which is so essential to your fu- 
ture success and glory. 

" I am, very cordially, etc. 

"E. Watson." 



464 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1818. 

Letter from Henry L. Ellsworth, Corresponding Secretary 
of the Hartford Agricultural Society. 

" Windsor, Conn., V6ih March, 1818. 

" Sir : — In compliance with the request of the Hartford Agricultural 
Society, held at Hartford on the 24th instant, I have the honor to in- 
form you, that you were duly elected an honorary memher of the same. 
At the same time I was directed to offer you their unanimous thanks, for 
the interesting letter addressed to the Corresponding Secretary, and the 
deep solicitude you therein express for our success. In pursuance of 
your advice, the Society have determined to include in their premiums 
' Domestic Manufactures,' with those on Agriculture, of which I in- 
form you with great pleasure. 

" With the respects and thanks of the Society, please to accept the 
assurance of my highest personal respect and esteem. 

" Henry L. Ellsworth. 

" Elkanah Watson, Esq., 

"Late President of Berkshire Agr. Soc" 



"Albany, 8th April, 1818. 
" To Henry L. Ellsworth, Esq., Corresponding Secretary, 

" Sir : — I am honored with your favor of the 26th ultimo, notifying me 
of my election as honorary member of your interesting society. For 
this, permit me to express my gratitude. 

"I feel safe in hazarding a prediction, that great results, even to 
future ages, will grow out of your patriotic efforts. They will tend to 
arrest the tide of emigration, which constantly flows from your State, 
robbing it of its legitimate energies. 

" Contemplating your Society in these views, I am proud in becoming 
one of its members ; and, since America is my country, I know of no 
local prepossessions, and shall contribute to your prosperity, by every 
means in my power. 

"I have had it in contemplation to attend your exhibition, on the 
14th of October, but as I have recently received and accepted invitations 
to attend those of Jefferson, in September, at Oneida, the week following, 
and at Ostego, the week after, and having also been requested by many 
of the counties in this and the neighboring States to give personal aid 
in their incipient stages, and take part in these glorious days, I find my- 
self a man of business, sustaining all these personal efforts at my own 



1818.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 465 

expense, and which in truth bear heavily upon me. However arduous 
the voluntary task, I feel grateful to Almighty God, that he has en- 
dowed me with an inclination of mind and a heart disposed to be use- 
ful to my country. I trust my descendants will not find cause to re- 
proach me, that I have lived in vain. 

" I must, however, at the close of this wonderful agricultural cam- 
paign, withdraw from the line, and leave younger men to follow my ex- 
ample in these matters. 

" I feel grateful, for the respect you have paid my former advice, 
which I find published at large in the Hartford papers, with gratifica- 
tion. [Here follow practical suggestions to guide their measures.] 

" Yours, etc., 

" Elkanah Watson." 
20* 



' ^-iS ^Sk. 




•SjJR-Wttfll 



Scene on a Canal Boat. Page 475. 



CHAPTEE XIX 



Upon the opening of the session of the Legislature, in 1819, 
Governor Clinton reiterated, with augmented force and earn- 
estness, his previous views upon the agricultural affairs of 
the State. Notwithstanding the powerful influence of these 
suggestions, sustained by the zealous and energetic exertions 
of the friends of the measure, among whom Mr. Watson was 
conspicuous, it was only in the very last days of the session 
that an act was passed, by which an annual appropriation, for 
a limited period, of ten thousand dollars, was 
made to the societies of the different counties 
for the promotion of agriculture and manufac- 
tures. The remaining features of the original plan, a Pat- 
tern Farm and a Board of Agriculture, were not adopted. 



Agricultural 
Law. 



1817.] Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 467 

A national Board of Agriculture had been, for many years, 
a cherished object with Mr. Watson, which he 
had urged with great ardor and enthusiasm. In ^A^ukuref 
1816, he prepared a memorial to Congress, on 
the subject, which was assumed by the Berkshire Society, 
and presented at their solicitation by the Honorable John W. 
Hurlbut, then representative from that district. Although 
favorably reported on by him, as chairman of a select com- 
mittee, and sustained by him and others with ability, the proj- 
ect was overwhelmed in the house, by the constitutional 
scruples of some, by the views of expediency of others, and 
by the cold and chilling absence of all appreciation of the 
magnitude and importance of this vital interest. 

The following correspondence of Mr. Watson with Mr. 
Jefferson and Mr. Madison, presents interesting views enter- 
tained on this subject by these illustrious states- 
men, and the opinion of the latter on the con- Correspondence 
stitutional question; and evinces the zeal and and Madison, 
unyielding efforts of Mr. Watson, in the pro- 
motion of his great purpose. These letters are only ex- 
ponents of an extensive correspondence, by which he en- 
deavored to enlist the sympathies and to evoke, in aid of his 
designs, the influence of the eminent and controlling minds 
of the nation. 

fi Albany, April 24£h. 

" Sir : — Accept my apology for intruding on your time, which I 
am well aware is sufficiently occupied by an extensive correspondence. 
But as you have expressed your favorable opinion of the measures of 
the Berkshire Society, and of my devotion to the cause of agriculture, I 
am induced to do it. The object of this letter has a direct reference to 
the institution of a national board of agriculture, to be located at Wash- 
ington. It would be superfluous for me to dwell a moment with you, 
on the vast importance of such an institution in a national point of 
view. On this ground alone I wish to invoke your powerful patronage 
Should Mr. Monroe add his weight to the scale, it appears to me the 



468 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1817. 

plan would not fail of success, more especially as Washington, in his 
inaugural, recommended the measure. That is the only instance I can 
trace of a public notice, in any shape, with the single exception of a 
petition to Congress, which emanated from the Berkshire Agricultural 
Society. This astonishes me, as every intelligent farmer in America 
must know what numerous advantages have been derived, in Europe, 
especially in France and England, from similar institutions. 

" I have held a communication with Mr. Madison on the subject, and 
while he highly approves the plan, he expresses, I regret to say, some 
constitutional difficulties. If this is truly the case, then the object is 
worthy of an effort to obtain an amendment of the constitution, to re- 
move the barrier. 

" I greatly fear, that the objection is too well founded ; for Mr. Hurl- 
but, who sustained the petition on the floor of the house, assured me, 
that he was met with sneers and ridicule, particularly from southern 
members, for urging the subject. 

" Our mutual friend, the worthy General Mason of Georgetown, who 
attended our cattle show in 1814, enters warmly into my views of this 
primary measure, and has promised me to bring his influence to bear in 
promoting the object ; and I greatly rejoice to learn also, that you intend 
to sustain it with zeal, and to furnish the public with your views on the 
subject. 

" Respectfully and cordially, 

"E. Watson. 

u To Thomas Jefferson." 



" Montioello, 8th May, 1817. 

" Sir : — I have duly received your favor of April 24th, and had long 
remarked the course and labors of the Berkshire Society, of which you 
were President. We have been indebted to them for much useful in- 
formation, and for the example they have set of zeal in the most im- 
portant of all human arts, — Agriculture. 

" About a dozen years ago, an effort was made at Washington, for the 
establishment there of a General Board of Agriculture, to which were 
proposed to be affiliated a secondary Board, in each State, and to this 
again subordinate Boards in each county. The person most active in 
producing this institution was Isaac Briggs, who was Secretary ; and 
Mr. Madison, while Secretary of State, was its President. He still, 1 
believe, possesses the skeleton of the organization ; but whether they 
ever published any thing or not, I do not know. 



1819.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 469 

" With respect to myself, you have been misinformed, as to my having 
any intention to take part in any periodical publication, agricultural or 
of any other character. I know, with the preacher, ? there is a time for 
all things ; a time to labor, as well as cease to labor ;' and that this last 
time has fallen on me ; daily and hourly admonitions, physical and 
moral, warn me to leave to other and younger citizens the management 
of what are to be their own concerns, and to be contented with the 
share I have had with those of my own day. 

" I submit to these monitions the more willingly, as they favor that 
rest and quiet, which the increasing debility of age calls for ; and I 
have therefore to offer only my prayers for success to the efforts of 
others, and praise to those engaged in them, among whom I distinguished 
yourself, and to whom I particularly address the assurance of my great 
respect. 

" Th. Jefferson. 

" Mr. Elkanah Watson." 



" Montpbliee, March 18. 

" Dear Sir : — I have received your letter of the 8th instant, accom- 
panied with your communications to Mr. Skinner, on the subject of 
a National Board of Agriculture. 

"I have never taken into particular consideration the expediency, or 
the best plan, of such an institution ; being among those who do not 
view it as within the powers vested in the General Government* If 
the power existed, Mr. Skinner is probably right, in supposing the publio 
mind is not yet prepared for the exercise of it. The experiments making 
in several of the States, will doubtless throw light on the utility of 
Agricultural Boards, instituted and endowed by public authority ; and 
it is to be wished that the experiment will be fully and sufficiently 
made. 

" Though not concurring in the opinion you entertain, I do full jus- 
tice to the patriotic zeal of which you give such steady proofs, in behalf 
of the art, which, more than any other, is the basis of individual com- 
fort and national prosperity. 

" I thank you for the Neapolitan Cabbage Seed, kindly spared from 



* Mr. Jefferson, in referring to Mr. Madison, was either mistaken in the fact, 
or, more probably, the institution to which he alludes was a private organiza- 
tion. — Editor. 



470 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1819. 

your small stock. Proper use will be made of it, with a view both to 
its preservation and diffusion. 

" Be pleased to accept my thanks and friendly respects. 

"James Madison. 
" Mr. Watson." 

The annexed letter from Dr. Mitchill, characteristic of his 
eccentric but philosophical mind, and another 
D^Mitchm. from Thomas L. Winthrop, formerly Lieutenant 
Governor of Massachussetts, I select from a 
large number of similar tributes, from eminent men, to the 
patriotic services of Mr. Watson, received at the period when 
his efforts were peculiarly devoted to the organization of Agri- 
cultural Societies, and to the advancement of the general agri- 
cultural interests of the State. 

" New-York, April 28^ 1819, 
" Elkanah Watson, Esq. 

" My Dear Sir : — During my last visit to Albany, as a solicitor of an 
endowment for the benefit of the Deaf and Dumb from the Legislature, 
I had the pleasure of spending an evening with you at the Mayor's. I 
hailed you as ' Grand Agricola ;' I also said to you, that as Robert R. 
Livingston, my late invaluable friend, and a benefactor of the human 
race, had been called by our Supreme Master from labor to rest, the 
wheaten crown, which he had so honorably and so usefully worn, had 
devolved to you ; at the same time, I raised my hands over your head, 
and seemed, as it were, to perform the ceremonial of decorating your 
temples with the wreath of Ceres. As this ceremony was performed 
unnoticed by you, you could not observe, so well as I did, the effect this 
coronation had upon the ladies. They sympathized, and well they 
might, in this land of Democracy and Christianity, truly the woman's 
paradise. 

•' I write this note, for the purpose of acknowledging the receipt of 
your Spanish Wheat,* and of the copy of your letter to G. W. Jeffreys, 
Esq., of North Carolina, on the history of the Berkshire Agricultural 

* This was a specimen of the wheat received from Spain, in response to 
my Circular, from 0. Rich, Esq., American Consul at Valencia. — Mem. E._ 

Watsoris Letter. 



1819.] Or, Memoirs of JElkanah Watson. 471 

Society, an excellent model for all similar institutions to work by. My 
numerous occupations, since my return home, have prevented me from 
taking any steps to form a Society for this county, for claiming the six 
hundred and fifty dollars, appropriated to it by the law. So far as I can 
discover, the citizens who have any feeling or concern about it are very 
few, and even they seem to think the conditions too hard. Some farther 
excitement is wanted, and I know not who among us shall give it. Some 
monitor like yourself, perhaps, may correct the existing error, and instil 
better notions. 

" Accept the assurances of my respect, 

" Saml. L. Mitchill." 

Extract from the letter of Lieutenant Governor Winthrop. 

" Boston, April 22d, 1835. 
" Elkanah Watson, Esq. 

" Dear Sir : — I have the pleasure to acknowledge the receipt of your 
favor of the 4th ultimo. It must afford you much satisfaction, to reflect 
upon the great benefit which the agricultural part of society in Massa- 
chusetts has received, from your exertions to introduce an improved 
system in husbandry. The citizens of Berkshire particularly appreciate, 
in a high degree, the advantages they derived from the information you 
imparted on this all-important subject." 

I have already remarked, that the scheme of a" Pattern 
Farm" was among the favorite projects em- 
braced in the conceptions of Mr. Watson, for 
the promotion of the agricultural interests of the State. His 
views are embodied in the following exposition of his plan 
on that subject, and will be read, I think, with interest, by 
the large and intelligent class of citizens, now enlisted in the 
same patriotic cause. The design still lingers in the minds 
and purposes of the friends of agricultural science, but has 
not received that consummation he so earnestly anticipated. 

" We will suppose a farm, containing from one hundred 
to two hundred acres of land, in the vicinity of Albany, to 
belong to the State, under the direction of a Board of Agri- 
culture, and containing a variety of soil, and a continually 



472 Men and Tim.es of the Revolution; [1819. 

flowing stream of water. On this farm we will suppose erected 
suitable buildings to accommodate a hundred persons and 
several work-shops, for the construction of farming utensils. 
Place this establishment under the superintendence of a Pro- 
fessor of Agriculture, with suitable assistance ; here to be de- 
posited plants, shrubs, grain, trees, etc., to undergo experi- 
ments to establish their congeniality to our soil and climate. 
Here, also, the best improved implements of husbandry will 
be introduced and made : new inventions will be tested, and 
models of such as shall deserve a preference will be sent to 
the County Societies. Also, the best plans for rural archi- 
tects ; the best season for sowing crops, tested by experiments, 
— the most approved fences, and the best kinds of domestic 
animals, will all come within the duties of this important in- 
stitution ; as well as experiments on manures, the best method 
of creating and preserving them. In a word, all that relates 
to practical husbandry, in connection with chemistry, horti- 
culture, botany, and mineralogy. 

" The most useful part of the system, will be the education 

of twenty young men, at the expense of the 
EducTtdon ml Agricultural Fund. The selection is to be made 

on the recommendations of the Presidents of 
the County Agricultural Societies, from the four great polit- 
ical divisions of the State. These students are to be formed 
into classes, and taught agriculture, in all its branches, as well 
in theory as in practice. They must, however, severally en- 
gage to labor on said farm, as practical farmers, at least three 
hours in each day, when so required by the professor, and to 
conform, in all respects, to the rules and ordinances of said 
Institution. Let it be made the duty of these students, to be 
attached, the ensuing year, to some respectable academy or 
school, in their respective districts, under the superintendence 
of the county societies. In these subordinate schools, let the 
youth be furnished with some cheap books, on the first ele- 



i8i8.] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 473 

ments of agriculture and chemistry, adapted to their capacities, 
and taught as a branch of their education. 

" However desirable the institution of a Pattern Farm, on 
a scale commensurate with the importance of the object, yet 
it is evident the period of its establishment is remote. Prob- 
ably, it will not be attempted, till the grand canals shall pour 
into the lap of our treasury overflowing means to support it. 
Besides, our agricultural societies are yet in their infancy. 
They must gradually approach a sufficient state of maturity, 
to give a tone, and carry conviction home to the public mind, 
that such a system will be an important auxiliary in perfect- 
ing the science of agriculture, in co-operation with the county 
societies. When our descendants shall reach that important 
epoch, every reflecting mind will readily perceive the incal- 
culable benefits of such an institution ; especially should the 
State be divided into ten agricultural districts, 
and a branch be established in each, under the D^Vrlcts! 11 " 81 
superintendence of men who shall have been 
educated, at least for one or two years, at the primary institu- 
tion. In process of time, under the operation of this be- 
nign system, (and I hazard nothing in venturing a prophecy 
that it will take place,) the great mass of our citizens will be- 
come scientific farmers." 

At this epoch, the more public and active agency of Mr. 
"Watson, in the organization of these Societies, and in the pro- 
mulgation of agricultural science, terminated, although his 
deep solicitude for the successful development of the great in- 
terests of agriculture was never diminished. A devotion to 
other objects of public improvement, excited the feelings and 
occupied the attention of his closing years. 

In the year 1818, he made a Western Tour, which ex- 
tended into the remote territory of Michigan. 

>« , . -.^i i • ' Tour to Detroit. 

to gratify his curiosity, by a personal inspec- 
tion of the character and resources of the new regions which 



474 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1818. 

were washed by the waters of Lake Erie, and to shed a tear 
upon the recent grave of a beloved daughter. This journey 
at that period was arduous, and surrounded with exposures 
and trial. 

I compile, from his very copious Journal, a brief summary 
of the incidents and observations he records. In a prelimi- 
nary notice, attached to a transcript of his original manu- 
script of this Journal, he remarks : — " The last and most in- 
teresting of all my journals of travels, through 
Joumais h ° rS a P er i°d of forty-one years, and this made at 
the age of threescore. I first began my jour- 
nalizing in .1777, when nineteen, and have preserved the 
practice, habitually, up to the present day. I was prompted 
to the relation of scenes of adventure and ludicrous incident, 
from the impression made on my mind when a boy by read- 
ing Eoderic Eandom, the inimitable production of Smollet. 

"June 3g?, 1818. — It had rained incessantly, for several 
weeks previous to my departure from Albany, on my jour- 
ney to Detroit. After a long and dreary winter, all nature 
was still enshrouded in mourning. This morning, the rain 
ceased, the dove has gone forth, and the earth appears once 
more glowing beneath the genial rays of grateful sunbeams. 

" On the 7th day of June, I left the village of Manlius, as 
well for the purpose of viewing the canal, as to accept an in- 
vitation to an excursion upon the first packet-boat, on her pre- 
<, , ;; liminary trip. I found lads and lasses, old and 

Canal Boat. J . . n ,, _ 

young, pouring in from all quarters, to profit 
by the same invitation. It began to rain as I arrived, and 
we all pressed into the long narrow cabin, packed to its 
greatest capacity. In a short time, however, the shower 
abated, the artillery of heaven ceased its incessant and ter- 
rific peals, and the vivid flashes of lightning disappeared. 
Who, in the contemplation of such a scene, can restrain a 
solemn and dread reverence for the Almighty power that 



1818.J Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 475 

wields and directs this terrific agency. Although philosophy 
assures us, that it results from natural causes, well known 
and fully developed, yet there is nothing else so calculated 
to make poor, proud, insignificant, pigmy man feel his noth- 
ingness and impotency, as when assailed by the thunderbolts 
of Heaven. 

" As soon as the rain ceased, the cabin began to disgorge 
its load. The gallant swains handed up their lasses, and 
spread the deck with chairs and benches, which were filled 
by a happy, joyous crowd, full of life and hilarity. I had 
observed, some distance in advance, a bridge, that seemed 
unusually low, and watched our rapid ap- 
proach to it with some anxiety, although re- 
lieved from apprehension by the feeling, that the officers of 
the boat knew and would discharge their duty in watching 
the safety of the passengers. My alarm and agitation in- 
creased to the utmost intensity, when I perceived that we 
were only two or three rods from the bridge, that no notice 
was taken of the danger, and that inevitable destruction was 
impending over the whole happy and unsuspicious mass. I 
cried out in the highest pitch of my voice, " Down ! down — 
off the deck !" Fortunately, the boat had a considerable 
space between the cabin and the gunwale, and into these 
gangways the greatest proportion precipitated themselves, 
while the rest tumbled into promiscuous heaps, in the narrow 
spaces at the bow and stern. In another instant, the chairs 
and benches were crushed into atoms with & tremendous 
crash, the fragments flying in every direction. To the as- 
tonishment of us all, upon regaining our feet, after the pas- 
sage of the bridge, we found that not a person had been in- 
jured. It turned out, that the captain was engaged in 
administering at his bar, and that the helmsman was an ig- 
norant novice. 

" At Syracuse, I resumed my carriage. It was impossible 



476 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1818. 

for me to contemplate Syracuse, Salina, and Liverpool, all 
thriving villages in the vicinity of Onondaga 
Syracuse. Lake, and devoted to the manufacture of salt, of 

improvement. which they produce nearly a million of bushels 
annually, and not recur to my expedition by 
water, thirty-seven years ago, to this same lake. What a 
transition ! The country was then in its primeval condition, 
roamed over by savage tribes, and only occupied here and 
there by scattered white inhabitants. No roads existed, and 
there was not even a gristmill west of tlie German Flats. 
Behold, now, as it were, an old country, possessed by a vigor- 
ous and intelligent population, fine turnpike roads, prosperous 
villages, and large and beautiful towns, numerous stage- 
coaches all plying in every direction in the midst of elegant 
and commodious farm-houses, excellent and highly cultivated 
farms, matured orchards, and, above all, the Erie canal in ac- 
tive progression, with fifteen hundred men at work in its 
construction, within sixty miles of this place, and splendid 
packet-boats already building for the transportation of pas- 
sengers from Lake Erie to the Hudson. Inexhaustible beds 
of gypsum are revealed here, which will tend to stimulate 
the advancing improvements in agriculture. 

ff I was detained at Auburn a day or two, by urgent solici- 
tation, to aid in the formation of the Cayuga Agricultural 
Society, and I delivered an address on the sub- 
Auburn. < ject. When I was at this place, in 1802, it 
turai Society. u contained four or five dwellings and a saw- 
mill. It now embraces two thousand five 
hundred inhabitants, several spacious churches, and other 
public edifices. 

u While sojourning at Seneca Falls, under the hospitable 
roof of my noble friend, Colonel Mynderse, noble in person, 
in heart and mind, I was peculiarly fortunate, in witnessing 
the transit of the first canal boat, which passed the canal and 



i8i8.J Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 477 

locks at this place just completed by private enterprise. 
Colonel Mynderse has resided at this place since 1792, and 
he erected here the first flouring mill in the western country. 
As no person can furnish more correct and intelligent in- 
formation, as to the progress and existing con- 
dition of this interesting and salient region Letter from 
since that period, and especially of the effects Mynderse. 
of the canals, constructed under the act of 1792, 
I solicited him to furnish me a statement on these subjects. 
The letter below, which he addressed to me, I received while 
on my western tour. 

" Seneoa Falls, 11th June, 1818. 

" My Dear Sir : — In pursuance of my promise, I now transmit to you 
the following authentic statement of facts. Previous to the construction 
of the canals and locks on the Mohawk river and Wood Creek, trans- 
portation was done in bateaux from one to two tons burden. These 
required four hands to navigate them. The price of transportation, at 
that time, was from seventy-five to one hundred dollars per ton from 
Schenectady to this place, a distance of two hundred and twelve miles. 
Since the completion of the aforesaid canals, boats of a different con- 
struction have been introduced, capable of carrying fifteen or sixteen 
tons, and requiring but one additional hand to work them. 

" The charges for transportation have been greatly reduced, notwith- 
standing the high tolls charged on passing the canals and locks, viz : 
about four dollars on each boat, and five dollars a ton on cargo, being 
about seventeen dollars per ton from this to Schenectady, and nearly 
that sum from thence here. Although these valuable improvements in 
the navigation of the Mohawk river and Wood Creek have been vastly 
beneficial to this part of the State, yet it is believed that proportionably 
greater advantages will yet result, on the completion of the middle sec- 
tion of the grand canal now constructing between the Seneca and 
Mohawk rivers. I think it may be safely estimated, that the transpor- 
tation will undergo a second reduction of forty per cent. 
" I am, with great esteem, your sincere friend, 

" Wilhelmus Mynderse. 

" Elkanah Watson." 



478 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1818. 

" I arrived, on the 17th instant, at the refined and delightftil 
village of Geneva. In '91, I found here a few log huts scat- 
tered alone: the slope of a hill, inhabited by a 

Geneva Village. *'i P " i i i - . a i 

gang 01 lawless adventurers, who were pros- 
trated by the fever and ague. The place was then notoriously 
unhealthy, from the proximity of an extensive marsh. It is 
now not only an elegant but a salubrious village, and dis- 
tinguished for the refinement and elevated character of its 
society. 

" Oanandaigua is a considerable village, containing many 
splendid residences, and a wealthy and genteel 
population. Here resides Gideon Granger, the 
late Postmaster-General, and eminent for his lofty and diver- 
sified intellectual endowments. The territory between Geneva 
and Oanandaigua is well settled, and the soil superior, but, 
upon the whole, I was disappointed in the general appearance 
and progress of the far-famed county of Ontario. 

" We forded, for a short distance, the north end of Oanan- 
daigua Lake, and travelled on its beach. This lake is distin- 
guished for its choice fish. The public hotel was bad, the 
house full, and myself, at the age of sixty, compelled to he 
upon a buffalo robe in the third story, in place of a bed. 

" The Genesee Flats were nearly impassable, on account 

of the late rains. Batavia is a considerable 

Batavia, town, situated upon the Tonawanda Creek. At 

Holland Land -,.\ • i i r» i -r-r -n i -r t 

Company. this place resides the agent 01 the Holland Land 

Company. What a mistaken policy in the gov- 
ernment of New York, to yield so many millions of acres, 
embracing an area sufficient to constitute a sovereign State, 
of the choicest land on the continent, to Massachusetts, to 
compromise an ambiguous claim, which rested alone on an 
antiquated charter, which stretched to the South Sea, or 
Heaven knows where. 

" Massachusetts sold to Eobert Morris, of Philadelphia, and 



1818.] Or, Memoirs of Mkanah Watson. 479 

lie transferred his title to Sir William Poultney and other 
speculators in Holland and England. Thus has this false 
measure entailed, upon the inhabitants of a vast domain, a 
tributary vassalage to foreign proprietors. 

"I was greatly impeded on my way, in being obliged to 
traverse a long and rough causeway, three miles in length, 
and in a wretched condition. To add to the 

t ,. , . , Causeway. 

annoyance and vexation, several six-horse 
teams were ahead of us, travelling at a snail's pace. For three 
hours, we were unable, from the narrowness of the track, to 
pass ; and I had no alternative but patience and submission. 
Oh for the completion of the canals, when these terrible 
Pennsylvania wagons will disappear.* 

" On the 21st, I reached Buffalo. About a mile distant 
from the village, on ascending the summit of a hill, my eyes 
were greeted, for the first time, with the glorious sight of 

* These nondescript instruments of commerce of a past age, are almost for- 
gotten, and will scarcely be recalled in the traditions of another generation. 
Before the construction of the Erie canal, they formed nearly the exclusive 
mode of transportation between Buffalo and the Hudson. The exception was 
chiefly the limited communication by the Mohawk. I recollect them, as they 
now appear in the memory of my boyhood, as huge machines with almost 
the capacity of a small canal boat, of great length, and formed with elevated 
sides, arched over by a lofty canvas top, heavily built, and of great strength. 
They rested upon large and ponderous wheels, with tires six or eight inches 
wide. These wagons were drawn by teams of three or four spans of power- 
ful Pennsylvania horses, whose harnesses were often surmounted with little 
towers, bearing small bells. The driver, always happy, gay, and light- 
hearted, sometimes occupied a lofty seat, but usually ro4e upon one of the 
horses, guiding his team by the voice and a single rein. They made regular 
trips to Buffalo, or upon some fixed intermediate route. Their rendezvous, 
in Albany, was at the innumerable little taverns established in Washington 
street for their peculiar benefit, and there these vehicles were often collected 
in great numbers. These wagons asserted and usually maintained the road 
against all other vehicles. If the camel may be described as " the ship of the 
desert," these wagons might have been regarded as the ships of our inland 
commerce. — Editor* 



480 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1818. 

Lake Erie, spreading like an ocean before me, and Buffalo 
in full view. This forms one of the links in 
the great chain of lakes and inland seas, com- 
pared with which, as a water communication, nothing on the 
surface of the globe deserves to be mentioned. The works 
of nature, in America, were arranged at creation, by the 
Grand Architect of the universe, on a scale of grandeur and 
magnificence worthy of His omnipotence. 

" The first view of Buffalo, spreading over an extended 
area, is highly imposing. I remained some days in this vil- 
lage. Its commerce at this juncture appears in a depressed 
state ; and the merchants are languishing and tottering. The 
creek on which Buffalo stands is bold, but its outlet is too 
shallow to admit vessels of heavy burden. Previous to the 
erection of the double pier which was subsequently con- 
structed, all large vessels were compelled to lie off, exposed 
to the open lake, at anchor, and there, in the most unprotected 
and inconvenient manner, receive and discharge their cargoes. 
" On the morning of the 22d of June, I started with a 
young English traveller, to visit Niagara Falls. From my 
earliest recollections as a traveller, I have in- 
dulged the hope of being able to gratify my ar- 
dent desire of seeing this stupendous display of nature. In 
this latter day, the wilderness has been opened, and I am un- 
expectedly allowed the privilege. We reached, after a ride 
of three miles, the residence of my friend General Porter, at 
Black Eock. He was highly distinguished on 
this immediate theatre during the last war, 
valiantly fighting in almost the literal defence of his own 
altar and fireside. His residence, a few stores and houses, 
and a new steamboat now building to ply the next season on 
Lake Erie, are the only prominent features of Black Eock, 
the proposed rival of Buffalo. Here we crossed the Niagara, 
in a small flat scow. The stream, hastening toward the great 



*8i8.] Or j Memoirs of ETkanah Watson. 481 

cataract, runs with a rapid current. I entered Canada for the 
first time, and, after a lapse of thirty-four years, again stood 
on British ground. The roads running parallel to the river, 
were excellent and pleasant, and the soil good, but in 
wretched cultivation, with poor dwellings, barns, and out- 
buildings. 

" Two miles west of Chippewa, we stopped to contemplate 
the battle-ground of the 5th of July, 1814. At the entrance 
of the Chippewa plain, my guide pointed out a 
ditch, in which the bones of the American and ^cht gr ew£ d 
British are promiscuously mingling with their 
mother earth, in close affinity. It is considered by military 
men, that this was an ably-conducted and hard-fought battle. 
Our terrific riflemen greatly annoyed the British, from a small 
hamlet on our left. On descending from our wagon, to walk 
over the field of Chippewa, I distinctly heard the roar of 
Niagara, and saw a mist rising in a thick white exhalation, 
indicating the position of the cascade. We crossed a bridge 
over Chippewa Eiver, and on the opposite side passed through 
the remains of an entrenchment, which favored the retreat of 
Eiall, and checked Brown's pursuit. A few miles beyond this, 
my feelings were strongly excited on my finding, that we had 
reached the very edge of a turbulent rapid, the river in vio- 
lent agitation, and rushing madly forward to its frightful 
leap. With the purpose of examining the rapid, itself an 
impressive object, to more advantage, we sent 
the wagon on, supposing, from the appearance, auh^Kis! 
that this point was only a short distance from 
the Falls. It was a great disappointment, however, when we 
ascertained, too late, that a deep curve in the river, which we 
were obliged to follow, and then a long walk to Forsyth's, 
made a distance of three miles. We floundered through, in 
deep mud and darkness, overcome with fatigue. 

" The ensuing morning, we were enveloped in a dense fog. 
21 



482 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1818. 

The roaring of the tremendous cataract had been in our ears 
all night, and at an early hour we stood upon 
Table Kock, gazing at the wonderful and awful 
scene, — an astounding display of almighty power. 

" The Falls have been so often delineated by the poet, the 
painter, and the orator, that I shrink from an attempt at a 
description. My mind had been wrought up to such a point 
in anticipation, that I confess myself disappointed in the 
magnificence and grandeur of the spectacle. Fatigue and 
indisposition from the exposure of last night, possibly had 
an influence upon my feelings. 

" We proceeded, the next morning, guided by Forsyth, to 
examine the scene of the battle of Bridgewater. It com- 
menced in the immediate vicinity of his house, 
^BriiTrtek wHch was riddled by the cannon balls. What 
a theatre for a mighty battle-field! What a 
scene for man to exhibit his passions and conflicts, — upon the 
threshold of such an exhibition of the wonderful and al- 
mighty power of God ! 

" After passing a piece of woodland, the country is open ; 
and here the murderous and unprofitable night conflict oc- 
curred. The American army was commanded 
fndDmm E m a ond. b y the self-taught, half-Quaker soldier, the gal- 
lant Brown ; the British, by Eiall, and, at the 
conclusion of the battle, by Drummond, both experienced 
and accomplished commanders. 

" Accident commenced the work of death ; each party was 
reinforced in succession, after the manner of the battle of 
Stillwater, in 1777 ; neither would yield the palm, and hence 
a most sanguinary carnage, in one of the severest and most 
closely-contested conflicts in the annals of war. 

"I was conducted to all the interesting points 
of attack and defence. From the fatal sum- 
mit of Lundy's Lane the British artillery poured a destruc- 



1818.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson, 483 

tive fire upon the American troops, and here the daring Mil- 
ler, always in the hottest of the fight, charged, and secured 
their guns. I contemplated the whole field from this eleva- 
tion. The shattered trees everywhere tell the woful tale. I 
picked up on the surface fragments of muskets, bullets, etc., 
and was shown the calcined bones of Americans, whose 
bodies had been barbarously burnt in a pile, formed by a 
layer of rails, and then the corpses of officers and soldiers in 
succession. My blood chilled at the horrid sight, and I could 
not restrain my indignant feelings in the presence of several 
Englishmen, who justified the act, on the score of retaliation, 
alleging that the Americans had given the example. The 
correctness of the assertion I doubted, and could never ascer- 
tain the existence of such a fact. 

" General Eiall was severely wounded by a ball through 
his shoulder at Bridgewater, and was taken prisoner. He 
was conducted to Pittsfield a prisoner of war, 
and there I became intimately acquainted with 
him. He was an Irishman by birth, and a soldier of distin- 
guished courage. General Eiall often conversed with me 
freely on the subject of this battle, and communicated the fol- 
lowing anecdote to me. He said, that, after being wounded, 
he withdrew to the rear, in great anguish, as he supposed to 
a place of safety ; but, to his great astonishment, he was cap- 
tured by a troop of American horse, who had boldly gained 
his rear, by a circuitous march. Inquiring the name of his 
captor, the reply was, Captain Ketchum. . l Well named, well 
named, Captain,' was Kiall's response; 'for you have truly 
catch'em, — the British commanding general.' We proceeded, 
on our return to Buffalo, by way of Fort Erie. England 
will long remember the fatal night tragedy at this fortress, 
where, in an unsuccessful assault, they lost from six to eight 
hundred men ; while, strange as it appears, the killed of the 
garrison did not exceed twenty-six. Two long ditches were 



484 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1818. 

pointed out to me, by an American officer, who was in the 
engagement, in which the severest of the British loss occurred. 
Here the merciless Colonel Drummond was killed, while 

shouting to his men, 'Give the d d Yankees no quarter V 

On the 23d day of June, we made our arrangements for a 

passage, on board the schooner Franklin, for Detroit. She 

was lying at anchor, abreast of the town, in the 

Lakc g !rie P °P en lake - With a select P art 7 of friends, I 

had secured the little cabin, and had the assur- 
ance of the captain, that he would provide us with an ample 
supply of sea stores. I observed boat after boat, during the 
evening, conveying passengers to the vessel, and, on reaching 
her in the dark, and excessive heat, I saw, to my consterna- 
tion, that our cabin was filled by a promiscuous crowd. My 
first impulse was, to return to the shore, but the darkness and 
the increasing wind, and the vessel in the act of starting, in- 
duced me to submit to my destiny. 

" We weighed anchor, the wind dead ahead, and rising. 
Our vessel soon began to tumble and toss, beating against a 
head sea, the children squalling in concert with 
their mothers, and all involved in Egyptian 
darkness, sullen and sea-sick. Thus passed the first comfort- 
less night, and three succeeding days and nights. Sometim.es 
there was a calm, our sails flapping against the masts ; then, 
light squalls, and again stiff breezes, always ahead. Our fare 
was horrible after the second day, consisting wholly of yellow 
Ohio pork and hard pease, as soft as boiled shot.* 

* In the winter preceding this tour, Mr. Watson formed and prepared a 
plan of a harbor of Buffalo, from an inspection of a map of the place, with- 
out having personally seen it. This plan, through the agency of a friend, 
he submitted to a committee of citizens ; and it is believed, that it was es- 
sentially embraced in the improvement which was ultimately adopted. This 
project was matured during his visit, and the Journal of Mr. Watson con- 
tains a detail and explanation of the plan, with maps and diagrams illus- 



i8[8.] Or, Memoirs of JSUcanah Watson. 485 

" On the fourth morning, we dropped anchor, just without 
the bar of Erie, in the open road, and exposed 
to the rake of the sea. These last three days 
have been the most trying and disagreeable I have encount- 
ered in all my travels. We were put ashore, and reached 
the town about nine o'clock. I never enjoyed so fully the 
comforts of a good tavern, an excellent breakfast, a shaven 
face, and clean linen. We looked like so many Eobinson 
Crusoes, as we traversed the streets of Erie, dirty, haggard, 
half-starved, and with beards of a startling length. This tran- 
sition soon made us forget our troubles, like other sailors, 
and we spent the day in viewing the town, its vicinity, Per- 
ry's fleet, and the vanquished British ships in the outer har- 
bor. 

"Erie is pleasantly situated, ninety miles south-west of 
Buffalo, on a plain two hundred feet above the 

, , -, . -, . . mi Erie, described. 

lake ; and it commands an extensive view. The 
streets cross at right angles, and are elevated in the centre. 
It contains about one hundred dwelling-houses, some of which 
are elegant, a court-house, and about five hundred inhabit- 
ants within the borough. The harbor is spacious, and will 
hold a large fleet, but unfortunately it is obstructed by a sand- 
bar, which crossses the entrance obliquely, with only six or 
seven feet of water. 

" At this place was built Perry's immortal flotilla. The 
British, having the command of the lake, might 
have destroyed the flotilla in its cradle, but for 
the intervention of that bar. Perry floated his ships over it, 
by means of machines, and conveyed to them on the outside 
their guns and stores. The British should have annihilated 
them, in this helpless condition. An officer of the navy con- 

trating it. As I possess no other explicit information of the extent to which 
his views were adopted, I have refrained from introducing that portion of 
the Journal into this work. — Editor. 



486 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1818. 

ducted Captain Baker of the army, his wife and myself, in a 
barge of the Niagara, rowed by expert Yankee sailors, to the 
fleets. They are sunk to their quarter-decks in the outer 
harbor, side by side. 

"The captured ships, Detroit and Queen Charlotte, lay 
near each other, and the American ship Law- 
Ships. aptUred rence, as the officer said, in a raking position, 
a little astern of them. We were rowed round 
the vessels, in every position, and we examined their bat- 
tered sides under water, and noticed many wounds and shots 
in their lower spars. We visited the Niagara, the only ship 
afloat, and were politely received by the commanding officer 
on the station, who conducted us into every part of the for- 
tunate vessel : into Perry's cabin, in which the glorious mis- 
sive was written, "We have met the enemy, and they are 
ours." 

"I conversed with several petty officers and sailors who 
were in the memorable battle. After taking 
our leave of the Niagara, we proceeded to the 
shore to visit the arsenal, and were much gratified with the 
inspection of the shattered spars and cannon of both fleets. I 
can recall no event of my life, more fraught with the luxury 
of national pride, in which the purest and loftiest patriotism 
could so widely expatiate, as when I contemplated in the 
scene the rising glory of the Republic, and indulged the grate- 
ful and proud conviction, that the ships, or rather decaying 
hulks under my eyes, had done more to humble the arrogance 
of Britain, than all the navies of France and Spain, through 
the long annals of naval warfare. We had often beaten her 
before, ship to ship, but the battle of Erie was our first trial 
in naval tactics, fleet against fleet. 

" I boldly challenge the history of England, to unfold a 
nobler display of skill, decision, and bravery, than was evinced 
by Perry, a comparative boy of Rhode Island, and his offi- 



1818.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 487 

cers and tars, in every stage of this well-fought battle. The 
father of Perry I knew well, in the Kevolu- 
tionary war. He commanded a packet be- peS£!° dore 
tween Newport and Providence, and was call- 
ed, I think, Kit Perry. 

"What incident in history is more noble and chivalric, 
than that momentous and decisive crisis, when Perry left his 
almost conquered and disabled ship, the Lawrence, in an open 
boat, exposed to the fire of the British fleet, and 
passed to the Niagara, a ship fresh and unin- Lawrence, 
jured, thus deciding the fortunes of the day, and 
capturing every vessel of a superior enemy. 

" We were rowed back to town, across the harbor, and in- 
spected the public store-house, the spot where Perry built his 
ships, and the identical boat in which he passed to the Nia- 
gara, which was lying on the beach in good preservation. 

11 The officer who conducted us in the yawl, a true son of 
Neptune, not only declared, but swore to the fact, that the 
Lawrence had been sunk three times alongside the Queen 
Charlotte, that she could not be kept there, having each time 
fallen off, in the raking position in which we saw her, in spite 
of them. He appeared perfectly serious in the belief, that 
this was a preternatural affair. 

" In the year 1814, and during the late war, I had frequent, 
familiar, and unreserved conversations with a British officer 
high in rank and character, upon the subject of our success- 
ful naval encounters with British ships. He freely conceded 
the fact, and, in elucidation, remarked, that he met his friend 
General Hyslop in London, after the capture of the frigate 
Java, who, with many officers and soldiers, was a passenger 
in her, en route to the East Indies. He inquired of General 
Hyslop, how it happened, that the Java was captured by the 
Constitution, when it was admitted, that she was of about 
equal force, of superior equipment, and almost doubly manned. 



488 Men and Times of the Revolution; [i8j8. 

General Hyslop replied to him, ".They expected, on falling 
in with the Constitution, to make a short job of her capture." 
He remained, he said, on the quarter-deck of 
The Ships the Java, through the engagement, and was as- 

and Java. tonished to see the superior gunnery of the Con- 

stitution, she discharging during the battle three 
broadsides to two of her antagonist, which added in effect one 
third to her weight of fire ; and to this circumstance he im- 
puted the victory of Bainbridge. My friend added, that 
General Hyslop said to him, he was convinced, from his sub- 
sequent observation and inquiry, the American 
sailors were far more active and elastic in their 
habits and motions than the British. The same result which 
signalized the combat between the Constitution and Java, 
characterized the numerous battles in the devolution, between 
American and British privateers, and, still more decisively, 
those of the late war. 

" Captain Butler and myself took a boat, and rowed in all 

directions about the harbor, sounded the water at various 

points, and sketched a plan, by which we considered the 

harbors might be made accessible to vessels of 

The Harbors. nn n 1 _ * i i 

ten or riiteen ieet draft, over the bar. A sketch 
of this plan is embraced in my original journals. 

" Towards evening, I was escorted by a citizen of the town, 
to view the remains of an old French fort, situated on a com- 
manding position upon the brow of a hill, de- 
Fortf renCh scending towards the lake. A French garrison 
was here surprised and massacred, in 1755. A 
light-house is to be erected on this eminence, which will be 
seen at a great distance up and down the lake. My compan- 
ion pointed out two block-houses, a little removed from this 
_ point, erected to protect Perry's fleet, while 

General Wayne 

building. Near one of these, was buried the 
celebrated General Wayne, hero of Stony Point, and con- 



1818.] Or, Memoirs of ETkanah Watson. 489 

queror, near Fort Meigs, in 1791, of the combined Indian 
tribes. His body, on being exhumed a few years since, was 
found, it is said, in a remarkable state of preservation. 

" In the evening, I took a boat to return to the schooner, 
lying in the offing. The wind was blowing a gale off shore, 
and I soon perceived that I had two drunken sailors at the 
oars. It was intensely dark, and we almost missed our gripe 
of the vessel as we were rushing by her side, when we must 
have been driven into the open lake in our frail boat, with 
little power of returning against the gale. 

" The vessel was soon under sail, with close reefs, and we 
were able for two hours, and the first time, to lay our course 
along the shore. The next day, the wind was again ahead, 
and we continued to beat against a pounding and chopping 
sea, the cabin full of emigrants, and all sick. The ensuing 
day, we beat into the mouth of Grand Eiver, and, to our mutual 
satisfaction, landed a part of our passengers. I 
remained here the 29th ; a favorable land breeze 
sprung up, which lasted two hours, and we were contending 
with an adverse stiff gale all night. 

" June 30th, we dropped anchor in a gale at north-west, off 
Cleaveland, in an open exposed road. In the afternoon, the 
wind abated, and we landed at the town, half 

., . , . n -tttt n n Cleaveland. 

a mile within our anchorage. We sounded 

seven and a half feet water on the bar, at the outlet of the 

harbor. 

11 Cleaveland is a considerable village, inhabited by an en- 
terprising race of full-blooded Yankees from Connecticut. We 
spent the residue of the day, in viewing the town and its 
vicinity. At the hotel, I was gratified to meet with several 
gentlemen of cultivated minds, men of the world, polished 
and refined. Cleaveland is situated on the Cuyahoga Eiver, 
has a bank in good credit, and is highly flourishing in its 
commerce and trade. A company has been formed, to open 
21* 



490 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1818. 

the mouth of the river, and to remove the bar. I saw a 
superior article of grindstones and stones for building, at the 
landing, which, I was informed, had been brought down the 
river from the interior. 

" Early in the evening, our captain apprised us, that a storm 
was gathering, and that all hands must at once go on board. 
When we reached the wharf, the gale was so 
severe, and the sea rolling in so heavily, that it 
was impracticable to get to the schooner, which we could see 
pitching her bowsprit under water. Here we remained all 
night, in great anxiety for our vessel, and more especially for 
our fellow passengers, Captain Baker and his delicate and 
charming wife, who had been left on board, with only one old 
French sailor. 

"At dawn, we were alongside the schooner, with a fair 
fresh wind for the first time up the lake. We found poor 
Baker and his wife in a woful plight, as they had expected, 
for several hours, that the vessel would founder at her anchor- 
age, the sea often making a clean breach over her. Our beds 
and baggage were drenched with water. 

"A fair wind revived our drooping spirits, and we were 

soon under way, with a bright sun to dry our clothing and 

cheer our hearts. The archipelago of the west soon made its 

appearance, — a cluster of beautiful islands sit- 

the° W P e 6 Jt ag ° ° f Uated near tne U PP er end of Lake Erie > Which 

will be forever celebrated in the annals of Amer- 
ica, as, near them, Perry gained his great victory. In the 
afternoon, we passed through them, and saw Put-in-bay, from 
whence Perry sailed to meet his advancing enemy. 

" Sunday, July 2d. — As the curtain of this blessed morn- 
ing began to rise, we found ourselves at the spacious entrance 

of the Detroit River, sailing north in the direc- 

Detroit River. . , 

tion 01 the city. We took the channel on the 
east side of Grrosse Island, pressing close into the British shore. 



1818.J Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 491 

I have never seen a nobler river, and I was truly astonished at 
the evidences of an old country on its margin upon each 
shore. I was pleased with the sight of old orchards and farms 
on both shores as we approached Detroit, which presented 
itself at the distance of about three miles. It appeared, from 
its imposing position, like a considerable city, 

A • -i x 7)1-1 A i i • Detroit. 

and very similar to rniladelphia as you ap- 
proach by the Delaware. The wind failing, we dropped 
anchor, and landed on the Canadian shore. We were obliged 
to walk two miles, and then be ferried over to the city. 

" The memorable 4th was celebrated in a field, in the rear 
of the residence of Governor Cass, where I dined with a large 
collection of gentlemen, and officers of the army. The occa- 
sion could not be resisted, although I had no desire for society. 
My heart and mind were hovering about the grave of my 
departed child. 

" Here I am, at the age of sixty, in Detroit, seven hundred 
miles west of Albany. I little dreamed, thirty years ago, that 
I should ever tread upon this territory. It is now time that 
I should pause and review the ground I have passed over, in 
a journey of exactly one month's duration, and contemplate 
this wonderful country, and plunge into the arcana of futurity. 

" Erie may be considered the only harbor formed by nature 
on this important lake, and that is materially obstructed by a 
sand-bar at its entrance. Measures are now in progress, to 
construct a harbor at Dunkirk. The mouths of all the rivers 
are choked by an accumulation of sand. These are all sus- 
ceptible of removal. The events of the late war have brought 
Lake Erie into prominence before the public mind. The want 
of harbors upon one of the most boisterous 
lakes on the globe, was severely felt in our re- 
cent naval operations. This fact, and the rapid progress of 
population in Ohio and Michigan, must demonstrate to the 
nation, the paramount public policy which demands the con- 



.492 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1818. 

struction of artificial harbors. This necessity will be greatly 
enhanced, when the completion of the New York canals shall 
have opened a new avenue for the outpouring of the illimit- 
able resources of Erie, and the vast region which envelops 
the upper lakes. The importance of these improvements will 
be enforced, with still greater emphasis, when steamboats 
shall, the next year, appear upon these waters. Within ten 
years, I confidently predict, the obstructions referred to will 
be removed, and appropriate light-houses will illuminate this 
lake. 

" When these results are consummated, a new era will 
dawn upon the West, and a fresh impulse be extended to 
every department of enterprise and industry. 
Pr n og?l P s3! ed Canals will be extended laterally, and tributary 
streams be opened, which will pour into this 
great reservoir the diversified products of these broad and 
fertile regions, which, before the close of the present century, 
will be overspread with a dense population of independent, 
intelligent, and industrious freemen. 

" The distance by these facilities will be practically reduced 
ten-fold, on all the great arteries leading from the Atlantic to 
the West. Lake Erie is remarkably exempt from shoals, but 
is still the most shallow of all the lakes. This peculiarity 
produces here waves, of a different character, and more dan- 
gerous than upon the other lakes, which are more like those 
of the ocean, whilst upon Erie they are short and broken, in 
nautical language, chopping seas. 

" The northern shore of Lake Erie is equally destitute of 
safe harbors. Within Point Ebino, about fifty miles from 
Buffalo, a deep bay running west, called Prince Edward's, 
affords a fine shelter from westerly storms. Secure harbors 
may be constructed at Buffalo, Erie, Dunkirk, Grand Eiver, 
Cleaveland, and Sandusky. 

" The location of Detroit is very pleasant, being somewhat 



1818.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. ' 493 

elevated, and boldly fronting its beautiful river. The old 
town has been burnt, which was a cluster of 
miserable structures picketed in and occupied described, 

by the descendants of Frenchmen, who pitched 
their tents here early in the seventeenth century, in prosecu- 
tion of the fur trade. 

" The city is now laid out upon a large scale, the streets 
spacious, and crossing at right angles. The main street is 
called Jefferson Avenue, and stretches the whole length of the 
city. Detroit must always be the emporium of a vast and 
fertile interior. 

11 By the existing estimation of the value of real estate 
here, it has, I think, been greatly overrated. Commerce is 
languishing, and agriculture is at its lowest degradation. In 
proof of this, I saw at the Grande Marie, four miles north of 
the city, a large, clumsy, wooden plough, such as doubtless 
were in use in France, at the period of the emigration from 
that country of the ancestors of this people. It was drawn 
by two yoke of oxen and two horses, and was conducted by 
three men, who were making as much noise as if they were 
moving a barn. 

" The most attractive objects I have seen on this beautiful 
river, are its innumerable and lovely islands, most of which 
are cultivated. The dense forest approaches in 
close proximity to the city, and spreads over a island, 

level surface quite into the interior. From the 
highest point of elevation I could attain, I discerned no up- 
lands: all was a dead plain. The land belongs to the gov- 
ernment, and is of the richest quality, but has hitherto been 
represented as unhealthy. The Territory of Michigan has 
not been adequately explored ; but, while I was at Detroit, 
several parties of enterprising and energetic young men pene- 
trated into the woods, with packs on their shoulders, to investi- 
gate, and returned with the most glowing and flattering ac- 



494 Men and Times of the Revolution ; [1818. 

counts of a country of the choicest land, generally undulat- 
ing, and requiring nothing but the vigorous arm of industry 
to convert it into the granary of America. 

" The near approach of the wilderness to Detroit, brings the 

howling wolves within a short distance of the 
Detroit! at G ^J 5 an( ^ ^ was frequently called on, to listen 

to their shrill cries, in the calm, hot nights. The 
numerous and large old orchards of the finest apples, original- 
ly imported from France, and the extensive fisheries of white 
fish in the vicinity, greatly increase the wealth and comfort 

of the people. Although possessing the most 
Agriculture. fertile soil, such is the wretched character of 

their agriculture, that the inhabitants are main- 
ly dependent upon the young and thriving State of Ohio, for 
their supplies of pork, beef, breadstuff's, and even of potatoes. 
" I daily notice squaws, fighting in the streets like wild- 
cats, and in conditions too revolting to describe. 
Ei e <Sans? d They lie about the city like swine, begging for 

cats and dogs, which they devour at the river 
side, half-cooked. The most disgusting and loathsome sight 
I ever witnessed, was that of a coarse, fat, half-naked Indian, 
as filthy as a beast, under a tree immediately in front of my 
son's residence, filling his mouth with whiskey, until his 
cheeks were completely distended, and then two or three 
squaws, in succession, sucking out of the corners. I called 
my daughter-in-law to see the revolting sight ; but she as- 
sured me, that it was nothing unusal, and that the practice 

was common with this tribe of Indians. I often 
' visited the fort which my old friend Hull so 
fatally and ignominiously surrendered. Colonel Myers, who 
was in command of Fort George at its capture, informed me 
while a prisoner at Pittsfield, that half of Brock's army, at 
the surrender of Detroit, were Canadian militia dressed in 
British red coats. 



r8i8.J Or, Memoirs of ETkanah Watson. 495 

" Having completed all the purposes of my journey, I took 
passage on board of a British ship, commanded 
by Captain Mcintosh, an excellent sailor and a 
a gentlemanly companion. We dropped down to Sandwich, 
the 21st of July. This is a considerable village, on the Brit- v 
ish shore. I landed here, viewed the town, and remained 
until morning. The wind being fair, we early weighed anch- 
or, and were soon in rapid motion down Lake Erie, having 
our kites all spread, and sailing most pleasantly ; our affairs 
presenting a strong contrast, in all respects, to our miserable 
condition in ascending the lake. The vessel was neat and 
clean, the sailors, all dressed in uniform, were active and 
alert. The wind continuing fair and strong, w^e dropped an- 
chor at noon, on the third day after our departure, opposite 
Fort Erie. 

" It is impossible for an old traveller to look upon the ex- 
isting condition of Michigan, and not be impressed with a 
conviction of the great and rapid changes which 
await the territory. It is destined soon to emerge Condition and 
from its present social and agricultural depres- Michigan. ° 
sion, into a great State, rich, populous and pro- 
gressive, and enjoying all the refinements and elegancies of 
civilized society. Detroit will rank among the great cities of 
America. Agriculture, the basis of all public prosperity, is 
now lamentably debased in general, scarcely advanced from 
the point it occupied centuries ago. The depression of Agri- 
culture necessarily bears down the interests of commerce; 
for, in a country like this, where is commerce without agri- 
culture ? 

" Blessed with a luxuriant soil and with the greatest con- 
veniences of water intercourse, and occupying a central posi- 
tion upon the most extensive internal navigation, by inland 
seas, on earth, what may not Michigan aspire to? Agricul- 
tural societies would shed a most powerful and benign influ- 



496 Men and Times of the Revolution. [1818. 

ence upon the progress and development of this region. The 
presence of a new and different class of farmers, more enlight- 
ened, more industrious and progressive, would at once give 
to it a new aspect. 

" I fbund my confident anticipations of the future and im- 
mediate advance of this territory, in addition to its inherent 
elements of prosperity, upon the following considerations : 

" Firsts The sale of the public lands, now first about to be 
opened. This measure will give new wings to the progress 
and population of the country. 

" Second, The introduction of steamboats, the ensuing year, 
on Lake Erie, with Detroit for the ultimate point of destina- 
tion. 

" Third, The erection of light-houses, to facilitate the navi- 
gation. 

" Fourth, The construction of harbors now in contempla- 
tion at various points. 

" Fifth, and above all these, the rapid advance of the Brie 
Canal towards Buffalo. 

" These great facilities to commerce and trade, will not only 
reduce immensely the expenses of transportation, but will 
virtually lessen the distance, by the economy in time they 
will effect between Detroit and the eastern markets. Soon, 
the decks of steamers will be thronged with passengers of a 
new character, attracted by curiosity and purposes of busi- 
ness to this remote region, who will scatter their funds with a 
lavish hand. The future of Michigan seems to be certain, 
defined, full of promise and expansion." 




Mr. Watson's Farewell Address. Page 521. 



CHAPTEK XX. 



The correspondence between Mr. Adams and Mr, Watson 
was maintained, sometimes at long intervals, until within a 
few months of the death of the former, even 
after he was obliged, in conducting it, to em- ^X^Adams. 
ploy an amanuensis. The last of his letters was 
in March, 1825, in reference to the election of his son to the 
Presidency. This, however, is unfortunately lost. Several 
written during the latter part of his life, have already been 
interspersed, in preceding sections of this work, in their ap- 
propriate relations, while others I feel constrained to with- 
hold from the public eye. The following cordial interchange 
of opinions and sentiments, terminates an intercourse of 
nearly half a century. 



498 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1818. 



From Mr. Watson to Mr. Adams. 

" Albany, <ld Nov., 1818. 
" Dear Sir : 

" It is now thirty-seven years since I had the honor of receiving your 
first letter at Ancenis. It was a paternal letter, containing salutary ad- 
vice to a young American, on the point of entering the busy theatre of 
the European world. It has been very useful to me, on many occa- 
sions. You then said, you must talk to me as an old man. I am now 
fifteen years older than you were at that time, and yet I cannot realize 
the idea of being an old man, — consigned to the chimney-corner, — in 
my night-gown and night-cap, smoking my pipe. I am determined to 
fight off the old man, as long as I can walk erect, with a firm and manly 
step, as my friends are pleased to say I do. The moment a man well- 
stricken in years is willing to resign himself to the old man, he will 
soon find himself in the dry dock, in good earnest. 

" You have frequently expressed a wish, that I would detail to you 
the conversation I had with my Tory relations in exile at Birmingham, 
in 1782, in reference to you, especially with Chief Justice Oliver. Look- 
ing over my old Journals, I find the following memorandum, October 
12th, 1782 : — 'In a long conversation this morning with Judge Oliver, 
in company with my cousin Elisha Hutchinson, son of the Governor, 
Doctor Oliver, and several other royalists, principally on American 
affairs, in which I did not in any manner disguise my rebellious sen- 
timents ; it turned mostly on my respected friend, John Adams. 

" Although the Judge admitted his firmness and virtue, yet he said, 
that he always ' dreaded him more than any man in America.' I will 
endeavor to amuse you with a little anecdote, which took place the 
Sunday preceding. [Here follows the account of an incident already 
mentioned.] I then began, for the first time, to feel their position, and 
to pity the poor exiled, cast-off Tories, — never more to see the face of 
their native land, for which they sigh, as did the Jews for their beloved 
country. If consistent with propriety, you will gratify me, by an ex- 
planation of the paragraph in your letter of the 16th of April, 1812, which 
sunk deep into my heart at that time, — to be denounced in such a tre- 
mendous manner, as it then appeared to me. 

" Respectfully, 

"Elkanah Watson. 

"John Adams, late President U. States." 



1822.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 499 

"Qitinct, Nov. 1th, 1817. 
" Dear Sir : 

" I thank you for your favor of the 2d instant. If thirty-seven years 
ago I wrote you in the character of an old man, I must now write in 
that of a superannuated one. 

" When Chief Justice Oliver said to you, in 1782, he ' dreaded me 
more than any man in America,' he did not explain his reasons. I will 
not pretend at present to conjecture more than one. He knew that ] 
was the first projector of the impeachment of the Judges ; and he be- 
lieved that measure to be the critical event on which the Revolution 
turned. 

" Enthusiasm for agriculture I have felt to my cost, in my own breast, 
and I daily see it in my amiable neighbors, Pomeroy and Quincy, and 
many others. 

" Far from reproaching or regretting it, I rejoice in it, because it does 
good. Yours in particular has been very useful. When I said, in my 
letter of the 16th of April, 1812, that ' so many interesting and respectable 
Societies were against you,' I meant, at that time, an Anglo-manian and 
anti-Gallican enthusiasm was prevalent and triumphant in this quarter, 
and that you, as well as I, had given offence by an approbation of the 
war against England. 

" Morever, I was against advancing your Agricultural Society any 
money, because I thought we had no right to do it, and because I 
thought, that, as soon as our finances would allow, we ought to institute 
Cattle Shows on your plan, and Exhibitions of Manufactures of our own. 

" I am sorry you are not to return to Massachusetts, because you 
have been a meritorious citizen, and possess much of the esteem of your 
friend, 

" John Adams. 

"Elkanah W t atson, Esq., Albany." 



Mr. Watson to Mr. Adams. 

" Albany, 4th Dec, 1822. 
" Dear Sir : 

" I rejoice to notice by the public papers that you are not only alive, 
but that it is evident, from your interesting letter to A. Coffin, that Pro- 
vidence continues to bless you with an unimpaired intellect. 

" I also rejoice, Sir, to find a new motive to address you once more. 
We have corresponded upwards of forty years on various subjects. 
%t The object of the present letter is to enclose to you a letter from Mr. 



500 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1822. 

Vanderkempt, which appeared in this day's daily paper, in defence of your 
just claims on the gratitude of posterity. I attended the meeting on the 
subject of the brave Greeks, to which he alludes, and verbally explained 
the error committed by the orator, but was too unwell to address the 
audience. Most of the facts stated by Mr. Vanderkempt were familiar to 
me, especially as I was indebted to you for an introduction to America's 
earliest advocate, M. Dumas, our steady, valuable, and efficient friend, 
in June, 1784, while travelling in Holland, as well as for letters of intro- 
duction to the bright lamp of science, the unfortunate Luzac of Leyden,* 
and Van Stopherst, the great banker at Amsterdam, all firm and useful 
friends to America, in the eventful crisis of our Revolution. I shall be 
happy to hear from you once more, and am cordially and affectionately 
yours, 



" John Adams, late President 

United States, Montezillo, Mass." 



"Elkanah Watson. 



reply. 

" Montezillo, Bee. 10^, 1822. 

" Dear Watson : — I thank you for your kind letter of the 4th instant. 
I wish, that time may bring forth as able a vindicator of your useful life, 
as Mr. Vanderkempt has proved, in defence of my reputation, with 
posterity, for some little usefulness in Holland. 

" This testimony of Vanderkempt was as unexpected to me, as if 
Luzac, De Geislaer, Van Berkel, Father Dumas, Cersier or Vanderco- 
pellen, had risen from the grave, and published such a narration. It is 
written however ' avec connaissance de cause.' I recollect with pleas- 
ure the agreeable hours I have passed with you in France, Holland, 
England, and America, and our correspondence for forty years, and re- 
gret that we have not lived nearer together. 

" I will thank you to send me a copy of Colonel Troup's pamphlet on 
the canals. 

" I hope you received the Old Colony Memorial, a newspaper in- 
stituted at Plymouth, and edited by William Thomas, Esq., — a paper 
which deserves to be read and encouraged by all America. 

" I am, Sir, both rationally and affectionately your friend, 

'' John Adams. 

" E. Watson, Esq." 

* Mons. Luzac was blown up in an explosion of gunpowder, belonging to 
the French, in 1784, upon the canal opposite his own house. 



i825,] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 501 



Extract of a Letter from Mr. Watson to Mr. Adams. 

"Albany, 11th Dee., 1812. 

" Dear Sir : — I received your friendly favor of the 10th. instant. I 
took the liberty of showing it to Secretary Yates, and permitted him to 
take a copy to transmit to your friend, Mijn Heer Vanderkempt. I hope 
I have not done amiss. 

" When I was in Philadelphia, and had the honor to dine with you 
solus in 1792, you observed to me, ' My friend, I perceive the mania of 
canals, banks, and general improvement has seized fast hold of you, and 
that your mind is absorbed in these objects. However useful to the 
public, rely on it, the pursuit will create you many enemies. Let me 
advise you to moderate your zeal, and let your primary object be, to 
secure an independence for old a'ge, and make provision for your rising 
family.' 

" This sage and paternal advice sunk deep into my mind at the time, 
and yet blindfold, as it were, I continued to pursue my destiny. 

"Had I observed your advice, and devoted my time, with equal zeal, 
exclusively to selfish pursuits, I should have been worth probably at 
this moment half a million of dollars, — and my sons would most prob- 
ably have become drones in the American hive." 

The following memorandum is incribed on the draft of the 
annexed letter to Mr. Adams. 

"After an eventful and protracted struggle, which has con- 
vulsed the nation to the very centre, the long agony is over. 
On the 9th of February, 1825, John Q. Adams, the son of 
my old friend, President Adams, who still lives, was pro- 
claimed President of these United States. In consequence, I 
wrote to the father the subjoined, my last letter to him. 

"Albany, 15th February, 1825. 
" My Venerable Friend : 

" Holding a correspondence with you on various subjects, for upwards 
of forty-five years, it is peculiarly proper, and I desire to bless God, that 
I can, in the evening of your useful days, offer to you my sincere and 
hearty congratulations, on the recent elevation of your son to the first 
office in the gift of a republican nation. 

" I am the more gratified, that this great State has contributed to his 



502 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1825. 

elevation, in every stage of the mighty controversy. I am now treading 
fast on the heels of an old man, and God has permitted you to reach to 
four-score and ten. Farewell, my great and good friend. May we 

meet in regions of bliss. 

" E. Watson. 
" John Adams." 

After tlie death of Mr. Adams, numerous applications were 
made to Mr. Watson, by politicians and students of history, 
as well from Europe, as in America, soliciting the perusal of 
his correspondence with Mr. Adams, and by some, that they 
might be entrusted with their publication. 

Under these circumstances, Mr. Watson addressed a com- 
munication to John Quincy Adams, for the purpose of obtain- 
ing an expression of his views and feelings on 
QufncVldaafs. tliat subject. The reply of the son is subjoined. 
While the lapse of more than another quarter 
of a century, since the date of that answer, has removed many 
of the grounds upon which Mr. Adams rested his implied 
hesitation, and although the subsequent publication of the 
most private and confidential correspondence of John Adams, 
by the act of the common representative of both the father 
and the son, relieves me from all restraint, still I have en- 
deavored, in deciding the question presented to my judgment 
and discretion, and in my selection from the correspondence, 
to regard with the utmost delicacy and circumspection the 
spirit of Mr. Adams' communication. 

In obedience to that design, I have suppressed much rela- 
tive to Mr. Adams, that would have increased the interest 
and value of this work, and, I trust, have revealed nothing 
to the public eye which will not tend to elevate the popular 
appreciation of the character of the elder Adams, his patrio- 
tism, and services. 



1827.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 503 

" Elkanah Watson, Esq., Albany, New Torh 

" Washington, March 16th, 182T. 

" Sir : — -I have duly received your letters ; and, in the sincerity of 
acknowledgment, that they ought each of them to have been directly 
and successively answered, I ask credit only for the assurance, that the 
delay to perform that duty has been attributable to any cause other 
than personal disrespect to you, or indifference to the favor of your cor- 
respondence. 

" Besides my friendly recollections of your person, which, if I mis- 
take not, travels back to the summer of 1784, at the Hague, I cannot be 
insensible to the service for which the cause of internal improvements is 
indebted to you, and, in the friend and correspondent of my father, I 
shall ever take a grateful satisfaction in recognizing my own. 

" With respect to the question which you have had the goodness to 
refer to my consideration, concerning the confidential letters, which in 
a long series of years you received from my father, I think you have 
judged rightly in refusing to give copies of them. From the frankness 
of his nature, the warmth of his feelings, and the confiding sincerity of 
his disposition, his letters often contained expressions of opinions, which 
he neither expected, nor would have consented, should have been made 
public. Since his decease, there may be less reason for withholding 
them from the public. 

M Sensible to that delicacy of sentiment with which you have referred 
this question to me, I shall, however, cheerfully acquiesce in any deter- 
mination which you may ultimately make concerning it, and remain, 
with respectful regards, 

" Your friend and fellow-citizen, 

"John Quincy Adams." 

It is proper I should add, that several of the letters of John 
Adams to my father were published during the lifetime of 
the former, with his knowledge and approbation. 

In the year 1826, Mr. Watson made a short tour from Lake 
Champlain into Canada. His notes of it possess, 
from the facts and speculations they embrace, 
unusual interest. 

"In the month of August, 1826, I entered Lower Canada, 
for the first time, at St. John's, and travelled by stage to La 



504 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1827. 

Prairie, on the St. Lawrence, a distance of eighteen miles, 
St. John's appears to be in a decayed condition, 
La Prairie.' an( ^ tne countr y through which I passed in a 

low state of cultivation, with, it is said, a de- 
pressed population, although the land seems susceptible of 
great improvement and productiveness. I examined, with 
much gratification, a little above St. John's, the ruins of the 
old fortress, which capitulated, in 1775, to the gallant Mont- 
gomery. From La Prairie, we descended in a small steamer 
to Montreal, pitching down the rapids, in the midst of rocks. 
Although thousands had made the passage before me in safe- 
ty, I could not overcome the most serious apprehensions. It 
seemed inevitable, in any derangement of the machinery, that 
the little vessel must be dashed to atoms among the jutting 
rocks. When I considered the relative position of St. John's 
and Montreal, with a level country intervening, I could not 
resist the idea, how soon these places, and the waters upon 
which they are situated, would be artificially connected, were 
Canada attached to the American Eepublic. I remained a 
night at La Prairie, — and seemed to be restored to one of the 
little fishing towns on the coast of Prance. It appears more 
active and commercial than St. John's. 

"Montreal altogether exceeds my expectations. It must 
become an important city, and, before the lapse 
of half a century, will be embraced in the fam- 
ily of American cities, our old friend John Bull to the con- 
trary notwithstanding. The houses of Montreal are generally 
built of stone, and many of them are elegant structures. I 
visited all the convents, attended mass at the old church, and 
felt as if transported once more to gay and beautiful France. 
The Episcopalian Church is distinguished for some elegance. 
They strained a cord, it is said, to excel the old Roman Cath- 
olic Cathedral ; but, the excited Catholics (between whom 
and the English no small animosity prevails) have determined 



1826.] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 505 

to put in requisition all their resources, to erect a church of 
greater magnitude and splendor, than any other in the West- 
ern Hemisphere. The foundation of this edifice is laid, and 
I examined its several parts with astonishment; for it ap- 
peared, in the mazes of its subterranean recesses and arches, 
like the outline of a vast castle. It will cost, it is estimated, 
half a million of dollars. 

" Montreal may be regarded as the grand emporium of 
both the Canadas. It is a place of much commerce and 
wealth. Its importance is attested, by the great efforts we 
made, in the last war, for its capture. The attempt cost us 
many millions of dollars, and thousands of lives, but we 
gained neither city nor laurels, — only reaping a bountiful har- 
vest of disgrace and national humiliation. The La Chine 
Canal was nearly completed, and the Board of 

~ . . 1-1 • i i i ^a Chine Canal. 

Commissioners had appropriated an elegant 
boat, to enable them to inspect the canal and locks. It being 
understood that I was in the city, a formal card was addressed 
to me, inviting my attendance on the excursion. 

" I repaired, in conformity to the invitation, to the boat, in 
the suburbs of the city, about six A. M., where I met with a 
respectable body of Commissioners, to whom I was a stranger. 
They were principally Scotch merchants of wealth and re- 
spectability, by whom I was received with much politeness. 
The compliment was enhanced by the fact, that I was the 
only invited guest. 

" The morning was particularly serene and pleasant. The 
boat was well calculated for a packet, having a high quarter- 
deck, with seats each side, and a cabin below. The Commis- 
sioners were all highly exhilarated with the opening scene, 
from its novelty in Canada, and the anticipated influence of 
the enterprise upon the prosperity of the provinces, and es- 
pecially of Montreal. As a traveller and citizen of the world, 
I entered warmly into their feelings and views ; and yet they 
22 



506 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1826. 

little imagined the workings of my mind at that moment, 
while I was contemplating all these measures, as destined to 
contribute eventually to the prosperity and strength of my 
own country. Without jealousy or envy, I indulged myself 
in viewing this canal, in connection with those proposed on 
the Ottawa, and the ship navigation between Erie and Onta- 
rio, as constituting a system that will prove a fearful rival to 
the Hudson and Erie Canal. 

" These splendid improvements, when completed, will at 
least create and stimulate a spirit of competition, and excite 
mutual emulation. I am aware, that this opinion of the 
effects of the Canadian canals will be scouted at, by the high- 
toned canal men of New York, but still I must 

Canadian Canals. . , , j , , , . ' , . , 

indulge in the speculation. This canal was 
commenced five years ago, and when completed it will cost 
about half a million of dollars. It is twenty -three feet wide 
at the bottom, forty-eight wide at the top, contains three feet 
depth of water,. and is connected by eight superb locks, built 
in the most substantial manner. They are twenty feet wide, 
one hundred long, and six feet lift. The execution exceeds 
by far the best of the New York locks. When they do not 
rest on the rock, the bottoms on the inside are substantially 
connected with the body of the lock by hewn stone, de- 
posited upon three-inch oak planks, forming a partial in- 
verted arch, the sides of the locks form the segment of a 
large circle. The bridges over the canals are constructed, in 
the firmest manner, of cedar, elevated nine feet above the 
level of the canal, and resting on hewn stone abutments laid 
in water cement, the whole fabric being bound together by 
large ship-knees of seasoned oak, and the wood-work hand- 
somely painted. 

" These works bear a very favorable contrast to the New 
York locks and bridges. The latter are remarkably slender, 
and so low as to have caused the death of several persons, and 



1826.J Or, Memoirs of Ellcanah Watson. 507 

are always exposing unsuspecting passengers to great danger. 
They fortunately will last not longer than seven years, and I 
hope we shall take pattern, when they are renewed, from this 
canal. 

" This noble work, although on a small scale when com- 
pared with the grand canal of New York, considered as the 
offspring of private effort, reflects great credit on the enter- 
prising adventurers. The heaviest part of the labor was the 
excavation of three miles, through a solid limestone rock, at 
the upper end of the canal. 

" This improvement will effectually obviate the most dan- 
gerous rapids on the St. Lawrence, of nine miles in length, 
from La Chine to Montreal, which averages a fall of five feet 
to the mile, in the midst of rocks. 

" On approaching the little village of La Chine, at the foot 
of Lake St. Louis, we discovered a steamboat descending the 
lake with great rapidity, directing its course to the point at 
which we aimed. Both reached the landing, at nearly the 
same moment. The steamer was crowded with passengers, 
citizens of the United States, on the grand fashionable tour 
from the upper lakes to Montreal and Quebec. 
This is a rational, healthy, and interesting rec- Tourists!. 11 

reation in the sickly season, especially to in- 
habitants of the south. The Canadians perceive with pleas- 
ure this intercourse increasing, from year to year, as we 
increase in wealth and population, and well they may, as 
these travellers spend their money with a liberal spirit. The 
immediate effect of this intercourse, is to accelerate the prog- 
ress of improvement in the comforts of travelling in the 
country, which otherwise would remain nearly stationary for 
many years, from the nature of its resources and the charac- 
ter of its people. But, what is the present intercourse, to that 
which will exist at the close of this century, when our popu- 
lation will have reached one hundred millions ! Who can 



508 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1828. 

reasonably doubt, that, within half that period, in the irre- 
sistible march of events, the two Oanadas and all the posses- 
sions of Great Britain in North America, will have become 
bright stars in the constellation of American States ? 

" What spectacle on the globe will compare with the gran- 
deur and sublimity of the scene to be then unfolded to the 
admiration of our own descendants and of all nations. 
What a commotion, what an animated intercourse, in a 
country abounding with a dense, active, intelligent, and en- 
terprising population of freemen, will then be seen, in every 
direction, in our cities, upon our rivers and canals, and above 
all, on our inland oceans, and the great leading avenues which 
will rivet them to the Atlantic, by the St. Lawrence, the 
Hudson, the Chesapeake, and the Mississippi. 

"In reference to the competition which will hereafter ex- 
ist between Montreal and Albany, for the trade of the upper 
lakes, I think there is little question that a powerful diver- 
sion will be effected from the Erie canal, when the works on 
the Ottawa river and the canals of the Canadian side of the 
Niagara are finished. 

" The Ottawa debouches directly north of La Chine ; 
thence the water proceeds in a north-west course to Little 
Eiver ; thence along that river in a south-west direction to a 
point within ten miles of Lake Nepissing, in latitude 46 deg. 
30 min. ; thence on that lake and French river to Lake Hu- 
ron ; and thence on the north shore of that lake to the Falls 
of St. Mary, at the outlet of Lake Superior. The whole dis- 
tance from St. Mary's to Montreal, by this route, is estimated 
at one half less than from the same point to Albany by the 
Erie canal." 

Mr. Watson continued to reside in Albany 

Po^Kent. ^^ 1828 > when he finall J left tliat cil 7> and 

removed to Port Kent, on Lake Champlain, a 
village chiefly founded by himself, and which became the de- 



1 828. J Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 509 

pot of the vast manufacturing products of the valley of the Au 
Sable River. This village occupies one of the most com- 
manding and lovely positions upon that lake of unsurpassed 
beauty. Its name was derived from the amiable and distin- 
guished Chancellor, and was a heartfelt tribute, from the pro- 
prietors, of respect for his eminent virtues and talents. 

During several years preceding this event, Mr. Watson was 
occupied in the promotion of various local and 
public improvements, in an extensive foreign Promotion of 
and domestic correspondence connected with pavements, 
these objects, and in the introduction and dis- 
semination of seeds, and other elements of agricultural science 
and progress. 

The benefit of his experience and observation was solicited, 
from different parts of the country, in the organization of 
agricultural societies and the promulgation of practical science ; 
and his advice and guidance were continually appealed to, on 
questions affecting internal navigation and commerce. A 
voluminous correspondence on a multiplicity of subjects of 
this character, is in my possession. Mr. Watson professed no 
theoretical knowledge or scientific attainments in civil en- 
gineering ; yet, long observation, an accurate eye, and a ready 
apprehension, enabled him to judge, with striking accuracy, 
of the practicability of proposed works. The felicity of his 
conclusions and estimates on these subjects, was often singu- 
larly corroborated by the results of subsequent and elaborate 
surveys. He was frequently invited, in this connection, by 
local associations and public meetings, to make a reconnois- 
sance of various localities, and to present his views on the ex- 
pediency and feasible nature of contemplated measures. 

I select the subjoined correspondence, in ref- 
erence to the Crooked Lake Canal, as illustra- Crooked Lake 

' . Canal. 

tive of the extent and nature of these services, 

and interesting, as it perpetuates a fact in the history of the 



510 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1829. 

internal improvement of the State. The first communication 
is from George McClure, somewhat prominent 



General in the events of the war of 1812 ; and the second 

is a generous tribute from the pen of a highly 
esteemed citizen of Steuben, recently deceased. 



"Bath, lUh June, 1822, 
" Dear Sir : — I have the satisfaction to say to you, that, at the meet- 
ing of the citizens of this town, which was convened yesterday, for the 
purpose of deliberating upon the practicability and utility of connecting 
the Crooked Lake with Seneca by means of a canal, a resolution of 
thanks was unanimously adopted by the meeting, for the politeness and 
promptitude with which you attended, at their request, and for the use- 
ful suggestion and enlightened views which you were pleased to sub- 
mit on the occasion, — which resolution I was requested to communicate 
to you. Be assured, Sir, we all felt a high veneration for your services 
and foresight, particularly as connected with the general canal policy 
of the State. Permit me, therefore, to add, individually, the expression 
of a hope, that the evening of your days may be as serene and as happy, 
as their meridian has been brilliant and useful. 

"I am, dear Sir, with perfect regard, your obedient servant 

" Geo. McClure, Chairman. 
" Elkanah Watson." 



« Bath, 17th Sept, 1829. 

" Dear Sir : — You may recollect, that when you were on a visit to 
this country, in 1822, you suggested to some of our prominent citizens 
the practicability of a canal communication from the Seneca Lake at 
Dresden, to the Crooked Lake at Penyan, and also from the head of the 
lake to this place ; thereby opening to our country a direct water com- 
munication with the grand Erie Canal. Your suggestions, I well re- 
member, were listened to, at the time, much in the same manner as we 
would now regard an eloquent representation of beautiful countries in 
the moon, coming from some well favored old gentleman, who should 
profess to have been there. 

" But, from your earnest recommendation, a small meeting was con- 
vened, at which some irresolute resolutions were passed, such as for ex- 
ploring, corresponding, etc., and you probably left the meeting and the 
county under a pretty full conviction in your own mind, that would be 
the last of it. The sequel, however, proves, that your suggestions have 



1827.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 511 

never been lost sight of, and we have now the satisfaction to believe, 
that the next season will witness the full completion of a canal between 
the two lakes, and that at no very distant day the lake communication 
will be extended to the village of Bath. 

" That your life may be spared to witness the full accomplishment of 
this important work, in originating which the credit is certainly to be 
ascribed to you, is the sincere wish, dear Sir, of your obedient servant, 

" W. W. McCay. 

" Elkanah Watson, Esq., Port Kent" 

This brief comment is attached by Mr. "Watson to the above 
correspondence, explanatory of the event. 

" I embarked in the enterprise of projecting the canal 
alluded to, while incidentally waiting for General Haight at 
a Mr. Townsend's, four miles from Bath. My attention had 
been aroused to the subject, by my observation while travel- 
ling parallel to Crooked Lake, — which itself may be con- 
sidered a great natural canal." 

Mr. Watson resided at Port Kent, from his removal there 
in 1828 to his decease. The embellishment of his grounds, 
horticulture, and agriculture principally occupied his time. 
He conducted numerous careful and valuable experiments in 
agricultural science. His mental ardor and activity were un- 
abated ; and the employment of his pen, in the discussion of 
subjects of general and sectional interest, and in a widely ex- 
tended correspondence, was unyielding, and persevered in 
almost to the close of his life. 

He embarked, during this period, with characteristic energy 
and zeal, in aiding the development of the vast and unre- 
vealed resources of Northern New York, in promoting its in- 
dustrial pursuits, and in the advancement of various schemes 
of local and public improvement. By his individual efforts 
chiefly, which he persevered in for several years, amid the 
most perplexing difficulties and embarrassments, an appro- 
priation was obtained from the State, for the construction of 
a road from Port Kent to Hopkinton in St. Lawrence county. 



512 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1827. 

This work was successfully accomplished, and has formed 
the important and effective avenue, by which 
Road from an immense and secluded region of wilderness 

Hopkinton. has been rendered accessible to emigration and 
enterprise. 
The last project of an expanded public character which en- 
listed the mind and the exertions of Mr. Watson, was a plan 
for connecting Boston with Champlain and the St. Lawrence, 
by an artificial communication. This vast and 
st?Lawrence^ e magnificent conception was first, I believe, an- 
nounced, in a correspondence between John L. 
O'Sullivan, Esq., an eminent civil engineer, and Mr. Watson, 
in the year 1827. This correspondence, which elaborately 
discussed and reviewed all the topics necessarily involved in 
the consideration of so important a subject, was widely pub- 
lished and commented upon by the public press. 

Mr. Watson, during several years, devoted all his efforts, 
with the enthusiasm and determination of earlier life, to the 
advancement of this great object. A project of a former 
period, the construction of a canal from Lake Champlain to 
the St. Lawrence, which he had suggested, and 
Lake Cham- and to which he had devoted much labor and 

plain and the . n , . -, ,, 

St. Lawrence. consideration, proposed to traverse the same 
territory now contemplated for the route of a 
railroad. By his agency, the line had been examined by a 
careful reconnoissance. These labors had rendered him inti- 
mately familiar with the subject, and had enabled him to 
amass an ample knowledge of the statistics and capabilities 
of the region. All these were exposed to the public mind, 
in the progress of this correspondence. 

The pen of Mr. Watson was actively employed, in discuss- 
ing and urging the purpose, while his personal labors were 
indefatigable, in promoting explorations and surveys of the 
country. The general object has since been achieved, by a 



i83o.] Or, Memoirs of ETkanah Watson. 513 

route, however, different from that which he had advocated. 
The plan which he sustained, contemplated a terminus at 
Burlington, the transit of the lake, by a ferry ; thence pass- 
ing up the Au Sable valley, and penetrating the barrier of 
mountains, by one of the ravines, which intercept them, to 
traverse the plateau through the heart of the northern wil- 
derness, and descend to the St. Lawrence along the course of 
one of its affluents. The designs proposed in embracing this 
route, were to secure, while it augmented, the business of the 
iron manufacturing district it would traverse, to develop and 
make tributary to the road, the vast forest tracts it would 
open, and to afford to the government an avenue for military 
purposes, removed and protected from the assaults of a foreign 
enemy. 

The disclosures and experience of each year, seem to de- 
monstrate the wisdom and sagacity of those views, not only 
as to the feasibility of the plan, but in reference to its influ- 
ence on the financial interests of the State, and the success 
and prosperity of the enterprise itself. 

Mr. Watson, as one of the representatives of Essex county, 
attended a large and highly respectable Convention, assem- 
bled for the purpose of considering the subject of this road. 
The Convention was held at Montpelier, Ver- 
mont, in October, 1830, and was composed of &™^2?e£ Bt 
delegates from four different States. The Hon- 
orable Luther Bradish of New York presided. Mr. Watson 
was prominent in the proceedings of this body, and delivered 
a speech, in a general exposition of the plan, and vindication 
of the policy of the project. 

This speech was reported, and published by most of the 
New England journals. The facts and anticipations it pre- 
sented, exerted, it was said at that period, a strong influence 
in directing the public mind to the subject* 

* The following note is appended to the publication of this speech, by 
22* 



514 Men and Times of the Revolution; [i833. 

This magnificent conception, to the advancement of which 
Mr. Watson devoted the closing years of his life, with the ar- 
dor of his usual zeal, was regarded, by most minds, as wild 
and Utopian. I have before me, in various newspaper ex- 
tracts, evidences of that ridicule and distrust with which he 
was so often assailed, while promoting objects of great and 
valuable public improvement. 

The reports, addresses, memorials and other productions 
on the subject of this road, from the pen of Mr. Watson, would 
fill a volume. The enunciation of the original idea, of con- 
necting Boston with the St. Lawrence, by a railroad, may 
with probable justice be ascribed to Mr. O'Sullivan, but the 
united voice of the press, which at that day spoke on the sub- 
ject, imputed to the zeal and efforts of Mr. Watson a para- 
mount influence in enforcing the plan and sustaining the 
feeble infancy of the enterprise. 

In connection with this project, and as a corollary, a char- 
ter was obtained from the Legislature of New York princi- 
Au Sable P a lty through the exertions of Mr. Watson, for 

valley Road. a railroad through the Au Sable Valley. Under 
this act a company was organized and the stock subscribed, 

the Massachusetts Journal and Tribune : " We have heard high encomiums 
passed upon the venerable Mr. Watson, for his public spirit and active benev- 
olence. He is the father of American Agricultural societies. 

" Mr. Watson was born at Plymouth, Massachusetts, and is descended from 
Governor Winslow in the seventh generation. It is worth}- of remark, that 
Winslow was the first to introduce neat cattle into the colonies, in 1623. 
His descendant was the first to introduce a comprehensive plan for improv- 
ing them. Mr. Watson is warmly attached to his native State, and formed 
the first American Agricultural Society in it. at Pittsfield about twenty 
years ago." 

In explanation of the above extract, it seems scarcely necessary for me to 
advert to the fact, after the explicit disclaimer in the preceding pages, that 
the founders of the Berkshire Society did not assert a priority for their or- 
ganization, but they did claim, that the plan and operations of their Society 
were novel, peculiar, an4 original. 



i833.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 515 

but circumstances, over which he had no control, prevented 
the construction of the road. 

Subsequent to his return from Europe, Mr. Watson be- 
came an earnest and open advocate of a reform 
in our national habits, in the use of intoxicat- Ieform. anCe 
ing drinks. The great and favorable contrast 
in the customs of France, which he had observed in that coun- 
try, excited a deep solicitude for a change in the habits of 
our own people. His journals contain constant allusions to 
this topic ; and he frequently urged its consideration upon 
the public mind, in various publications! By his suggestion, 
the Berkshire Society at an early day assumed a decided at- 
titude on this subject, and exerted its influence to arrest the 
use of ardent spirits as a beverage. The Society offered pre- 
miums, to promote the culture of orchards, and the brewing 
of malt liquors, under the conviction, that the habitual use 
of these articles would diminish the consumption of more del- 
eterious drinks. However equivocal that measure may be 
regarded, viewed in the progress and light of the present day, 
it was considered, at that time, an important progressive step 
in the advance of temperance reformation. 

Among other productions on the subject, Mr. Watson de- 
livered an address at Keeseville, in the year 1833. This 
performance attracted much attention, from the 
venerable age of its author, the ardor with which The Author's 
he engaged in the cause, from his wide and dis- Keeseville. 
criminating observation, and the earnest and 
emphatic testimony he offered, to the sacredness and impor- 
tance of the temperance measures then in agitation. The ad- 
dress was elaborate, and discussed numerous views of the 
subject. I present a few extracts, believing them appropriate 
to the issues of this hour, and that they still possess value and 
may exert an influence, after even the progress and experi- 
ments of nearly a quarter of a century. 



516 Men and Times of the Revolution; [i833. 

After referring to his intimate acquaintance, in every grade, 
with the society of both Europe and America, he says : " It 
is with no less pain than humiliation, that I must, in candor 
and truth, bear my testimony to the world, that, until re- 
cently, our country has been disgraced by its character for 
intemperance. We have been, though unjustly, stigmatized 
as 'a nation of drunkards.' We all know the injustice of 
this foul aspersion, to that extent, and have cause to be thank- 
ful, with reverence and with adoring hearts, to our common 
Benefactor, the Great and Eternal God, that he has been 
pleased in so great a degree to remove this foul stain. All 
good and pious men, in the virtuous days of the Eevolution, 
firmly believed, that the Almighty was our Guide and Shield, 
and that he would conduct us to liberty and glory, and ren- 
der us a lamp and example to the human race. In the eye 
of philosophy, and in solemn reverence, may we not ration 
ally believe, that, blessed as we are above all nations, he will 
not permit us to be cast into a deep shade, by being an in- 
temperate community. 

" In my travels in Europe, I found the northern nations 
much addicted to intemperance, but the southern almost free 
from the fatal vice. In evidence of this truth, it is said, that, 
by the laws of Spain, no man can give testimony, who has 
been once detected in liquor. 

" My respected old friend, John Adams, once truly said, 
that there were more drunkards in North America than in 
any other country of equal population." Mr. 
Dmnkards. Watson attempts to trace the national habit of 

intemperance to our origin as colonies, and thus 
continues : " I can truly say, and say with great pleasure, 
that, during a residence of five years in France, I saw but two 
men disguised by liquor, and these were of the very dregs 
of society. No decent man could be thus exposed, without 
being banished from all female society, with indelible marks 



i833.j Or, Memoirs of ETkanah Watson. 517 

of disgrace. Contrast this happy state of morality, as to 
temperance, with a disgusting drunken frolic of our revolu- 
tionary epoch. Many such a frolic has occurred under my 
own eye. Behold men, otherwise respectful, at their first 
meeting, in mutual polite civilities ; the accursed bottle is in- 
troduced ; by degrees, their voices swell into vociferous con- 
fusion, — all talkers, but no hearers ; they all are seized with 
a species of madness and delirium, — the door is locked, with 
a universal shout of approbation, that no man should pass 
that threshold sober. Suffice it to say, that a sober Indian 
would blush to witness the sickening sequel. 

" It is now upwards of twenty years, since the first agricul- 
tural society was organized in Massachusetts, upon the modern 
plan. They assailed, in an open and public manner, the vice 
of intemperance, both by precept and example. The most 
efficient course adopted, was granting liberal premiums on 
the extension of orchards, and the brewing of malt liquor, as 
a substitute for ardent spirits." 

Mr. Watson proceeds to indicate the progress of the tem- 
perance societies, the effect of Dr. Beecher's publications, and 
the necessity of prompt and decisive self-control. He thus 
narrates his own experience : — 

" In the year 1791, my destiny carried me by water from 
Schenectady to Seneca Lake. It was then like a voyage to 
the East Indies ; few had made it, except In- 
dian traders. I went in an open bateau, to spy Experience*' 8 
out the wilderness, and to ascertain the practi- 
cability of canals to connect the great western waters with 
the Atlantic Ocean; was compelled to use impure water, 
and had, for six weeks, no covering but the blue vault of 
heaven spangled with stars, except an occasional shelter. 
Under these circumstances, I first contracted the habit of 
grog-drinking • fortunately for me and mine, it was but tem- 
porary. On my return to my family, I regularly took my 



518 Men and Times of the Revolution; [i833, 

four o'clock grog; then four and six o'clock, and soon four, 
six, and eight o'clock. When I reached this point, my best 
friend, justly alarmed, gave me a gentle rap over the knuckles. 
I instantly put my foot down, determined, that the love of 
liquor should never be my master. It is in this way, by in- 
dulgence in the habit, that drunkards are coined." 

After enforcing these views, by further illustrations, he 
continues, — " It does appear to me, that the subject of intem- 
perance has been sufficiently probed, dissected, and discussed, 
in the abstract, in every section of the Union, with all its at- 
tendant evils ; and that, in consequence, well-disposed, good 
citizens have taken their stand, and determined on their course 
of action. Thus, then, let it be pronounced in the profound- 
est humility, and with due reverence before God and man, 
that public opinion is established. I repeat from the house- 
tops, in a loud voice, — public opinion is estab- 

Public Opinion. -. \ , , .,, . L , \ . ., 

lisned ; and will unceasingly act m unison, with 
a vigor and effect that cannot be resisted, to strike at the root 
of this infernal malady, and thus, by various measures, pros- 
trate all its votaries to the earth. 

" Having reached this result, let your future measures be- 
more practicable, less theoretical, and of a more decisive cast ; 
to lead with a silken cord, when expedient ; to coerce, where 
there is hope ; to abandon the incorrigible to their fate and 
the house of correction. These lines of demarkation will en- 
able the whole army of reformers to bring their artillery to 
bear on the most assailable points, with sure aim and certain 
effect. Let there be asylums provided, in every county or 
district in the State, under the sanction of the 

Aaylums^^ ^ aws ? t ^ iere to confine the incorrigible, without 
any respect to persons; the bottle to be ab- 
solutely and unreservedly withheld from their touch ; to be 
thus confined, until a complete reformation shall be pronoun- 
ced, — on the first violation, to be returned to their cells for 



i833.J Or , Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 519 

the short remnant of their worthless lives." 

"Let all tavern keepers be amply rewarded by the patriotic 
and the just, I may say the pious, portion of the community, 
who, as travellers, and from other causes, find themselves in 

public houses." "The true 

course would be, to induce innholders to withdraw their 
parade of bottles of liquid poison from their bars, which may 
justly be regarded as the impure altar, at which, if I may so 
say, one half of the drunkards have been initiated. Let 
them confine themselves to hot coffee, cider, malt liquor, 
sweet milk, and lemonade, — the usual price to be doubled for 
the former, and for every glass of the latter, and even pure 
water, the unadulterated liquor of nature, let individuals, 
stimulated by public sentiment, and in a spirit of liberality, 
pay the price of grog, and so call it, if they think best." . . 

Mr. Watson then discusses, at considerable length, the ques- 
tion of temperance, in reference to its effect upon the claims 
and privileges of the vendors of liquors. He thus continues : 
" Suppose, then, for a moment, that the revised 
laws of this glorious State had interdicted the Ardent^x-its. 
use of ardent spirits in public houses, and that 
landlords were confined to the provisions I have just detailed, 
I ask would not the present number be reduced one-half? 
and would not that half be adequate to public convenience, 
instead of offending the eye of patriotism by an excess of 
loathsome bar-rooms, everywhere to engender habits in out 
youth, which otherwise they never would imbibe, and thus- 
also save the character of the nation from pollution ? And 
why, I repeat, why should a class of men be thus patronizec 
and encouraged, at such an awful expense to the nation,— 
and, yet more, to millions on millions of posterity ?" 

Mr. Watson adverts to the history and de- fc . . m , 

n , , , . . t -T-, i Asiatic Cholera 

vastation ot the cholera in Asia and .Europe, and 

exhibits the historic fact, that its most fatal ravages had fal 



520 Men and Times of the Bevolution; [i83y. 

len upon the vicious and intemperate. He then applies the 
coincidence, — " Have we not great cause to apprehend, from 
our perpetual intercourse with England, that the destroying 
angel will direct his course across the Atlantic ? Should that 
be our terrible destiny, is it not probable, that the cholera 
will sweep from the face of our soil all the individuals whom 
Temperance Societies shall fail to reclaim."* He closes his 
address with solemn admonitions, and with blessings upon the 
efforts of the Society, "in the capacity of an old man, four 
years beyond the full term of human life, and on the verge 
of eternity." 

Mr. Watson was frequently called from his retirement at 
Port Kent, to participate in the festivals of various Agricul- 
tural Societies ; and, by particular solicitation, he attended, 
in October, 1837, the Twenty-Seventh Anniversary of the 
Berkshire Society. 

The occasion was one of deep interest, and was connected 
with the most gratifying incidents. The public and private 
exhibition of respect and kind recollections which he received, 
were most satisfactory to his feelings, and attested the ample 

* " In six short weeks, my apprehensions as to the cholera were most 
fatally verified. It appeared at Quebec, advanced to Montreal, where its 
ravages were appalling. Thence it proceeded South and West, and spread 
rapidly, even to Chicago, fastening upon Plattsburg, Burlington, and White- 
hall ; in its southern course, it burst upon New York, Albany, and most of 
the towns and villages on the Hudson, and from thence to Long Island and 
Connecticut. It raged, an awful scourge throughout the land. Most of the 
steamboats were stopped on the lake ; commerce was totally at a stand. At 
this moment, 8th August, a universal gloom pervades the nation. All seem 
to feel, that they are trembling upon the brink of the tomb, with uplifted 
hands, crying to the great Jehovah for protection and relief. Fasts are held 
everywhere ; and it seems, in some places, as if the judgment of Heaven was 
stayed suddenly, and in almost a miraculous manner ; but often, after leav- 
ing a city, it would return, and again burst forth with redoubled violence. 
Amen ! God's will be done." — Manuscript note to a printed copy of the Address 
of Mr, Watson, 



1 8 37.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 521 

appreciation, by that community, of his labors and services 

as the founder of their institution. Mr. Watson 

delivered, on this occasion, his last address be- at^rialSe! 

fore the society. It was his valedictory to all 

these associations; and here appropriately terminated his 

public course. His address closed with this paragraph : 

11 Permit me, gentlemen, bending under the weight of years, 
once more to bid you an affectionate, — a final adieu. That 
the Eternal may continue to shower his benedictions on your 
heads, and inspire your hearts and those of your descendants 
in process of time, to uphold and sustain the society, in all 
its original purity, through many generations, is my earnest 
prayer : — once more, a long, long farewell." 

I shall, I trust, be pardoned, for introducing the very 
marked expressions conveyed in the following 
action of this society. My father cherished and Inspect! ° f 

preserved it, as one of the most grateful and 
consoling tributes of approbation he had received and garn- 
ered up from his long and active labors. 

" Berkshire Agricultural Society. 

« PlTTSFIELD, Oct. 5th, 1837. 
[Extract of the record from the Annual Meeting.] 

" On motion of Henry H. Childs, Resolved, That the Secre- 
tary be instructed to address a letter to the Honorable Elkanah 
Watson, whose name is so honorably associated with the early 
history of this Society, and to assure him, on behalf of the 
Society, of the high gratification they have experienced at 
meeting him, once more, upon this its Twenty-seventh An- 
niversary, and to return him their thanks for the very inter- 
esting remarks with which he has this day favored the So- 
ciety, and the audience assembled." 

A true copy of the record. 

Julius Eockwell. Secr'y. 



522 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1837. 

" Respected Sir : 

" It is with great pleasure that I comply with the instructions of the 
above Hesohe, which was unanimously and and enthusiastically adopted 
by the Society. 

" With high respect your obedient servant, 

" Julius Rockwell, Secretary. 
" Hon. Elkanah Watson." 

The following interesting speculations, in reference to the 
progress of American population, were written in the year 
1815. The original is on file among the papers 
Progress of of Mr. Watson. The approximation of these 

America? 11 ' m calculations to the actual result, has been strik- 
ingly exemplified, by each succeeding census ; 
and I have deemed the document worthy of preservation for 
future reference. 

A View of the Progress of the Population of the United States : 

written in 1815. 

"In 1810, it was 7,239,903. The increase from 1790, the 
first census under the Constitution, has been about one-third 
at each census : admitting that it will continue to increase in 
the same ratio, the result will be as follows : 

In 1820 9,625,734 the actual result was 9,638,151 

" 1830... 12,833,645 12,866,020 

u 1840 17,116,526 17,062,566 

" 1850 23,185,368* 

" 1860 31,753,824 

" 1870 42,328,432 

" 1880 .56,450,241 

" 1890 77,266,989 

' 1900 100,355,985 

* The results of the three censuses succeeding this estimate were added in a 
note by Mr. Watson. The actual result of the census of 1850 was 23,191,876. 



i837.] Or, Memoirs of Elhanah Watson. 523 

"It is barely possible, that I may live to see the census 
of 1850 ; if so, I shall fill up that blank, and leave the rest to 
my descendants. 

"It will be almost presumptuous to stretch our minds 
through the ensuing century ; and yet, taking as a basis one 
hundred millions at the close of this century, and in con- 
sideration of dense population, intestine and foreign wars, a 
possible subdivision in consequence into several republics, we 
will suppose the increase will be one third in each twenty 
years, for forty years, one third the next thirty, and one fifth 
for the next forty years. It will stand thus : 

For 1930, 133,000,000, in round numbers. 
" 1940, 177,000,000, " " 

" 1970,236,000,000, " 
" 2000, 283,000,000, probably 300,000,000. 

equal to the population of China. 

" Such a deep plunge into the hidden mysteries of futurity, 
through six successive generations, ought to have a salu- 
tary influence upon all the busy actors on the theatre of the 
present and succeeding ages. 

" The probability is, that not a single mortal now at the 
age of manhood will see the close of this century, although 
many now in infancy may live to witness that proud era of 
American glory. What a solemn responsibility, therefore, 
devolves on the conspicuous actors of the present day. The 
virtues, the vices, the morals, and the corruptions of this 
generation will descend in their influences to those remote 
periods, and form the basis on which will be grounded the 
national character, manners, and habits of one hundred mil- 
lions of Americans, at the close of this century. 

Ca-Ira. 



524 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1839. 

"The result up to the census of 1840, commencing with 
that of 1820, was thus : 

OVER. UNDER. 

In 1820, 12,151 — 

" 1830, 32,375 — 

" 1840, ....... 165,983 

44,526 

44,526 

Short of my estimate in 25 years, 121,457 

I have already remarked, that Mr. Watson seldom asso- 
ciated himself in partisan zeal with any political sect. He 
uniformly voted, but with no guidance except his own con- 
victions, and with no party restraints. His sentiments were 
catholic. He embraced, in his affections, the whole Union, 
and extended his confidence to political men whom he es- 
teemed patriotic and honest, without regard to mere party 
names. Agreeable and gratifying incidents which occurred, 
in the political campaign of 1839, preparatory to the great 
contest of '40, exhibit these traits. On an evening in August 
of the former year, Governor Seward arrived at Mr. Wat- 
son's residence, by the southern boat; and, within an hour 
# afterward, Mr. Clay reached there from the 
Governor north. The former was an acquaintance of Mr. 

Mr. Clay. Watson's, the latter a personal stranger. The 

partisans of these whig luminaries assembled 
in crowds to receive them ; and, for this purpose, the house 
of Mr. Watson was freely opened and illuminated, and his 
saloons converted into reception rooms for the levee of his 
guests. 

A few days afterward, Mr. Yan Buren arrived at the man- 
sion of Mr. Watson, which was again luminous, 
and thronged with the Democratic masses. It 
was the homage of an aged and departing republican, — not to 



1 839.] O, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 525 

the leaders of party, but to his country, — to the eminence of 
prominent and distinguished men of a new generation. 

The journal of Mr. Watson, in which, on every anniversary 
of his birth, he was accustomed to review, in the form of a 
summary, the events of the preceding year, was continued to 
January 22d, 1842, which was the year of his decease. The 
last letter attached to the pages of this work, was one from 
the eminent agricultural writer, the late Henry 
Coleman ; and, by a happy and apt coincidence, Henry Coleman, 
the final paragraph of his journal recorded the 
following tribute to the character and services of Mr. Coleman. 

" In the month of September, of this year, I received the 
annexed letter from the Eev. Henry Coleman, one of the 
most successful agriculturists of the age. He was formerly, I 
think, a Professor at Harvard, and a preacher of the Uni- 
tarian doctrines which predominate at that venerable institu- 
tion. Mr. Coleman has, for several years, devoted his talents 
to the promotion and improvement of agriculture as a science. 
For the last six years, he has been employed by the noble 
State of Massachusetts, in visiting all the towns of the interior 
counties, and most of the prominent farmers personally, for 
the distinct purpose of investigating the condition and re- 
sources of agriculture, and for the dissemination of practical 
knowledge in husbandry. This is a broad field of high and 
responsible duty. Few individuals have been more useful, in 
exciting a powerful and wide-spread influence upon agricul- 
ture. Fortunately for me, he was engaged, at the time of my 
visit in 1837, in his tour of Berkshire, and was seated at my 
left hand at the dinner table, where he delivered a most ex- 
cellent address. 

"Bttelinoton, Vt., Sept. 21, 1841. 
" Hon. Elkanah Watson : 

" Dear Sir : — I am much obliged by your several pamphlets and let- 
ters, all of which I have carefully read. I will forward you some agri- 
cultural pamphlets, soon after my return to Boston, which will be by 



526 Men and Times of the Revolution; [1842. 

the middle of next month. I shall value the engraving which you have 
politely sent me, as that of an individual, whose public-spirited, enlight- 
ened, and disinterested exertions and sacrifices, to advance the cause of 
an improved agriculture and that of public internal improvements 
generally, have not been surpassed by any citizen in the country. 

" The public, throughout the county of Berkshire in particular, and 
in the State of New York and the country at large, are now enjoying the 
valuable fruits of your labors. This is your reward, and not a small 
one to a patriot and philanthropist. 

" I am, Sir, very respectfully, yours, 

"Henry Coleman." 

Physical infirmities, attended with severe suffering, were 
now rapidly and surely prostrating the frame of Mr. Watson. 
He saw and realized the admonition, and pre- 
La^t^hiess!' 8 pared, in calmness and resignation, for his de- 
parture. He had attained to a great age; he 
felt that his destiny had been accomplished; and, in the 
language of Dr. Franklin addressed to himself half a century 
before, and to which he often referred, that it was " time for 
him to leave the stage to others." 

His intellectual powers remained unimpaired, and his men- 
tal industry unabated. His pen continued to be his constant 
occupation and solace. His last thoughts clung to those themes 
to which his life had been consecrated. Amid the throes of 
nature, when the curtains of earth had almost closed about 
him, and the consciousness of external objects was shut out, 
" the ruling passion strong in death" still animated and 
lightened his mind. Enquiring for a member of his family 
who stood over his bed, he added, "Ah yes, I know, — he 
has gone to Plattsburg after that Eailroad Act," 

s^on rU His g i^atii. an( ^ ^ nen r ^ising himself from his bed, he ex- 
claimed, in the delirium of approaching death, 
with the strongest emphasis and most earnest gesticulation, 
" Yonder is the track of the road, and at this point it must 
terminate." These were the last words he uttered. 



i842.] Or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson. 527 

Few citizens have yielded to the advancement of the great 
interests of their country more ardent enthusiasm and self- 
sacrificing zeal. The fact that a devotion to 
public concerns impaired the private fortune cf 
Mr. Watson, attests the purity and disinterestedness of his 
motives. Some of the projects he advocated were, perhaps, 
visionary and extravagant, while many, which at their initi- 
ation found little favor or response in public sentiment, have 
proved in their results the sagacity and forecast of his theo- 
ries. Impatient at the listless and calculating spirit of doubt 
and skepticism, that often crossed his path and fettered 
his enthusiasm, he sometimes resisted it with an impetuous 
zeal, rather than with conciliatory moderation, and thus often 
animated hostility when he might have disarmed opposition. 

He wrote with great fluency, and with a rapid hand, in a 
nervous and elevated style, often wanting, however, the pol- 
ish and precision which is formed by finished education. He 
was not learned in science, nor accomplished in literature. 
Men and nature were the books he studied ; and, from the 
enlarged views formed by travel, and by close and vigilant 
observation in a long and variegated career, he had accumu- 
lated no ordinary fund of interesting facts and valuable in- 
formation. 

Mr. Watson died at Port Kent, December 5th, 1842, in the 
eighty-fifth year of his age. A plain and simple 
obelisk is erected over his grave, bearing this EpUaphT*' 

inscription : 

HERE LIE THE REMAINS 
OF 

ELKANAH WATSON, 

The Founder and First President of 

THE BERKSHIRE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 

MAY GENERATIONS YET UNBORN 

Hearn i>2 f)t* Example 
TO LOVE THEIR COUNTRY. 



INDEX. 



Abbeville, in Picardy, 163. 

Accounts, Chamber of, in Holland, 261. 

Ackland, Lady Harriet, 87. 

Adams, John. A passenger in the 
French frigate "La Sensible," in 
1779, 92. Envoy at Paris, in 1792, 
162. At Delft, accompanied by Mr. 
Watson, 236. His purpose to rescue 
a child, at the Hague, 236. At La 
Maison du Bois, 235. His emotion, 
at the recollection of the massacre of 
the De Witts, 240 ; and on visiting 
the Pilgrim Church at Leyden, 241. 
At Schevingen, 233. Mr. Watson 
dines with, 208, 237 ; and spends an 
evening with, 234. His abstraction 
of mind, 237. His account of his 
children and grand-children, 238. 
The father of the American navy, 
237, 238. Gives names to the first 
four ships of the United States, 238. 
His censures of Great Britain, 436, 
437. His opinion of the number of 
drunkards in America, 516. His es- 
trangement from Dr. Franklin, 329, 
330. His infirmities, 380. His cos- 
tume, while in Holland, 233. Judge 
Oliver's opinion of, 182. Character 
of, 236. His correspondence with 
Mr. Watson, 121, 122, 182, 183, 236, 
378-380, 397-401, 433-439, 497-499. 
See Letters. 

Adams, John Quincy. Elected Presi- 
dent of the United States, in 1825, 
501. Letter from, to Mr. Watson, 
503. 

Adams, Samuel, 435. 

Adgate's Falls. Described, 410, 411. 

Admiralty, Courts of, in Holland, 261. 

Adversity, Kellections on, 220. 

Africa. Coast of, 322. 

African. Colonization, 267. Emanci- 
pation, 267. Songs, sung by negroes 
in South Carolina, 52. 

Africans, educated, 268. 

^gricola. The name of, applied by 
Dr. Mitchill to Mr. Watson, 470. 

Agriculture. State of, in America, in 

23 



1784, 275 ; in Berkshire county, Mas- 
sachusetts, in 1807, 420; and in 
Michigan, in 1818, 494. New York 
State patronage of, 471 ; law of, in 
1819, 466; Board of, 466; Professor 
of, 472 ; Fund, 472. Governor Clin- 
ton's interest in, 466. Mr. Watson's 
Eeport on, 457. Education in, 472. 
National Board of, 467, 468. Oxen 
used in, by Germans, 337. 

Agricultural. Fairs and Cattle Shows, 
421. Festival in Berkshire county, 
423. Society of Berkshire, 423, 424 ; 
and of Otsego, 426, 427. John 
Adams calls Mr. Watson " The Fa- 
ther of American Agricultural Socie- 
ties," 238. 

Agricultural Missionary. The title giv- 
en to Mr. Watson, 458. 

Aire River. 192. 

Albany. Described, 306, 307. Trade 
of, with New York, 306, 307. Dis- 
tance from Detroit to, 281. Burgoyne 
bearing down upon, 33. Mr. Watson 
removes from Providence to, in 1789, 
326 ; and returns to, in 1791, 361 ; 
and in 1816, 450. Mr. Watson's Cer- 
tificate as a Freeman of, 326. Spouts 
on the houses of, in 1790, 327. Im- 
provements in, 327. Anticipated 
commerce of, 318. Bank of, 328, 389, 
390. Kendezvous of Pennsylvania 
wagons at, 479. Cholera at, 520. 

Albemarle Sound, 299, 303. Connection 
of the Chesapeake Bay with, 285. 

Alexander the Great, contrasted with 
Washington, 279. 

Alexander, Mr. The residence of, at 
St. Germain, 109. 

Alexandria, Virginia. Described, 72, 
277, 278. Commercial prospects of, 
73. Distance of, from Detroit, 281. 

" Alfred.' " American ship, 238. 

Algerine Ambassador, 400. 

Allen, Parson. Leads his parishioners 
to the battle-field, 32. 

Allen's Biographical Dictionary, 435. 

Alston, William. Of South Carolina, 51. 



530 



Index. 



Alva, Duke of, 223, 240, 247. Van 
Dyke's picture of the, 250. 

America. Ignorance respecting, in 
England, in 17S4, 218. Mr. Watson's 
return to, in 1784, 271. Prospects of, 
in 1778, 77, 78. Treaty of peace be- 
tween England and, 208. Manners 
of the people of, 169, 170. Progress 
of the population of the United States 
of, 522, 523, 524. Destiny and mis- 
sion of, 78. 

American. Agriculture, 275. Army, 
on Long Island, 274. Confederacy, 
262. Drunkards, 516. Farmer, anec- 
dote of an, 271, 272. Flag, 203, 228, 
Navy, 215, 237, 238 ; see Navy, Ameri- 
can. Eevolution : see devolution. 
Eoyalists, 204, 206. Servants, 169. 
Tea-drinking, 265. Tourists, 507. 

Amherst, Lord, 409. 

Amiens, town of, 163. 

Amsterdam, 148, 227. Described, 248, 

249. Compared with Paris, 248. Stad- 
huis, 248. Harbor, 248. Trade and 
Ee venue, 249. Bears half of the 
financial burden of Holland, 261. 
Exchange, 250. Pump punishment, 
251. Easp House, 250. Speel-houses, 

250, 251. Dinner-party at, 251, 252. 
Expected decline of, 258. 

Ancenis, France. Described, 100. Curi- 
osity excited at, by Mr. Watson, 123. 
Mr. Watson studies French, at the 
college of, 116, 117. Ceremony at a 
convent in, 120, 121. 

Andre, Major. Introduction of, to 
Miss Seward, 196. 

" Andrew Doria." American ship, 238. 

Angers, France. Described, 100, 114. 
Amusing scene in the yard of a post- 
house at, 208, 209, 

Annapolis, Maryland. Described, 282. 
State House at, 282. 

Antiquarian Speculations, respecting a 
phylactery, 448-450. 

Antwerp, 148, 248. Commerce and pros- 
perity of, 258. 

Appletown, 354. 

Archipelago of the West, 490. 

" Ardent. 1 ' Ship, 117. 

Armada, The Spanish, 203. 

Armonica, The. Invented by Dr. Frank- 
lin, 154. 

Army, American. At Boston, 23. On 
Long Island, 274. At Quaker Hill, 
89. On Ehode Island, 32. At Tiver- 
ton, 88. At Valley Forge, 74, 75. 
Character and condition of, in 1775, 
25, 26. 



Army of Holland, 263. 

Arnold, Benedict. His conflict with 
Carleton, 410, His intrepidity at 
Danburv, 35. At Fort Stan wix," 313. 
At Otter Creek, 407. 

Aromatic Grass, 351. 

Artois, Count d', 122. 

Ashe, Colonel. Anecdote of the wife 
of, and General Tarleton, 286. 

Ashepoo River, 58. 

Ashley's Ferry, 316. 

Ashley River. Scenery of, 56. 

Asiatic Cholera, 519, 520. 

Asylums for the intemperate, 518. 

Auburn, New York, 476. 

Au Sable River, 410, 411. 

Au Sable Valley Road, 514. 

Austrian Flanders: see Flanders. 

Avant courier. Mr. Watson's persona- 
tion of an, 208. 

Avon River, 179, 197. 

Bacon, Mr., of Albany, 398. 

Bag of gold and silver, stolen from Mr. 
Watson, 323. 

Bainbridge, Commodore, 488. 

Baker, Captain, 486, 490. 

Balfour, Captain. His Queen's Guards, 
24. His plan of occupying' Plymouth, 
24. Anecdote of Mr. Watson and, 
24. One of the officers of, compelled 
to surrender his sword to the people, 
at Plymouth, Massachusetts, 25. 

Ball, Mr. Of Ballston, 334. 

Ballad, Eevolutionary, 21, 22. Frank 
Moore's collection of Eevolutionary 
ballads, 22. 

Ballston Springs, 335, 402, 403. 

Baltimore, Maryland, 72. Described, 
73, 277. Eoad from Elk to, 277. 

Bancroft, Dr., 155. 

Bank. Of Albany, 328. National, of 
France, 213. Bill, President Madison 
refuses to sign the, in 1815, 447. 

Banks, Sir Joseph, 431. 

Baptism. The mode of, among the 
Dunkers, 40. 

Baptist Preacher. A politician, 301, 
302. Caricature of a, 302, 303. 

Bar of Erie, The, 485. 

Barage, M., 130. 

Bargee, Mr. At Salem, North Caroli- 
na, 293. 

Barklet, Mr., 162. 

Barton, England, 187. 

Bass Fish, 341, 343, 344. 

Bateau Travelling, 336, 338, 340, 341. 
To Albany, 318. On the Mohawk, 
316. 



Index. 



531 



Baiavia, New York, 478. 
Bath, England, 196, 834. Bathing at, 
198, 199. Legend respecting, 334. 
" The Bath Guide," quoted, 199. 
Bath, New York, 511. 
Bath, on Pamlico Sound, 46. 
Bath, Tom Paine's purification in a, 

128. 
Bathing. At Margate, 214. At Mat- 
lock, 195. At Saratoga, 334. 
Battle-ground. Camden, South Caroli- 
na, 296. Guilford, 290, 291. 
Bay of Biscay, 112. 

Bayard, Stephen N., 335, 336, 338, 355. 
Beal, Mr. His mail- wagon, 362. 
Bear, seen by Mr. Watson, in North 
Carolina, 49. Bears, at Wood Creek, 
341. 
Bear/fort, South Carolina. Described, 
59. Commerce of, 67. A private, 
mistaken for a public, house at, 59, 
60. 
Bed, The, of the Princess of Orange, 
235. French, described, 97. A buf- 
falo robe used as a substitute for a, 
478. The German custom of sleeping 
between two beds, 39. 
Bedlam. Illustrated, by the Stock Ex- 
change, in London, 266. 
Beecher, Eev. Dr. His publications 

on Temperance, 517. 
Bees. Mr. Wildman's feats with. 219, 

220. 
Beggars. At Amiens, 164. At Bruges, 
148, 149. In France, 101. In the 
He de Rhe, 95. 
Behring Strait, 449. 
Belle lie. The Governor of, 125, 126. 
Belleter Square, London, 132, 142. 
Bells. At Amsterdam, 249, 250. At 

Haarlem, of silver, 246. 
Benson, Egbert, 313, 
Bentinck, Count de. His Gardens, 234. 
Berkshire County, Massachusetts. De- 
scribed, 419, 420. 
Berkshire Agricultural Society, 423-427. 
Exhibition in, 181 2, 424. Mr. Watson's 
Address before the, in 1814, 444-446. 
Memorial of the, to Congress, in 1816, 
467, 468. President Jefferson's ref- 
erence to the, 468. Mr. Watson's 
Address before the, in 1816, 454. 
Progress of the, 428, 429. The Fair 
of the, described by a Virginian, 429, 
430. Influence of the, 454. Mr. 
Watson at the twenty-seventh anni- 
versary of the, 520 ; his last address, 
521 ; honorable testimony to him, 451. 
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 293, 294. 



Described, 38. La Fayette at, 37. 
Mr. Watson at, 37. Moravian cere- 
monies, 75. 

Bidet. A French, described, 97. 

" BilV Anecdote of, and his Captain, 
26. 

Birch canoes, 350, 408. 

Birmingham, England, 176, 179. De- 
scribed, 180, 181. Canals, 180. 

Biron, Marshal de, 125. The Mar- 
chioness de, 318. 

Biscay, Bay of, 94. 

Bivouacs, 48, 339. 

Blackheath, 168, 170. 

Black River, 52, 285. 

Black Rock, 480. 

Blacksione-edge, 191. 

Blanchard, M., 105. 

Blankets. The American army supplied 
with, by Mr. Watson, father of the 
author, 91, 92. 

Blazed trees. In North Carolina, 71. 
Blazing, described, 47. 

Bleaching. At Haarlem Lake, 247. 

Blenheim Palace, 177. 

Block Island, 271. 

Blockley and Marion Ayricultural So- 
ciety, 460. 

Blois, City of. Described, 113. Illu- 
mination at, 113. 

Bloomfield, Mr. Of Boston, 56, 68. 

Blount, Colonel. Mr. Watson attacked 
by the hounds of, 45. 

Blue Ridge Mountains. Visible from 
Fredericksburg, 42. 

Boatman. Story of a, 320. 

Boerhaave. Monument to, at Leyden, 
242. 

Bole de Boulogne, 109. 

Bonaparte, Napoleon. First Consul, 
392, 393. 

" Bon Dieu," The. At Nantes, 129. 

Boots. Of French postillions, 97, 98. 

Boroughs, Rotten. See Rotten Bor- 
oughs. 

Boston, Massachusetts. Described, 81. 
Tea destroyed at, in 1773, 21. Mob 
at, described by Mrs. Cotton, 21. 
Regulars driven back to, 23. Be- 
sieged, 25. Washington in command 
of the American troops at, in 1775, 
25. Long wharf at, 81. Connection 
of, with the St. Lawrence, 512. 

" Bostone,' 1 Milord. Amusing story of, 
209. 

" Boston es." The name given in France 

to the American revolutionists, 96. 
Botetourt, Lord. Marble statue of, at 
Williamsburg, Virginia, 43. 



532 



Index. 



Boulogne, 163. Described, 164. Bois 

de, 109. 
Bourbons, The. Kestoration of, 119. 
Bowen, Commodore, 62. 
Bowen, Ephraim, Colonel, 384. His 

narrative of the destruction of the 

Gaspee, 27-29. His longevity, 27. 
Boy. Admiral Braakel and a Haarlem 

boy, 229. 
Braakel, Admiral. His exploit at Da- 

mietta, 246, 247. Silver bells captured 

by, 246. A Haarlem boy and, 229. 

Monument to, 229. Inscription on 

the tomb of, 229. 
Bradish, Luther, 513. 
Bradstreet, General, 382. 
Brand/m Hill, 197. 
Brandi/wine, Delaware. Washington's 

defeat at, 35. 
Brandywine Greek, 277. 
Bray, Village of, 176. 
Brentford, England, 175. 
Brest, France, 117. 
Brewerton, Fort, 344. 
Bridge. Floating: see Floating Bridge. 

Wooden, near Schuyler's Mills, 338. 

Bridges over the Loire, 99. 
Bridge-water, Duke of, 264. His canals. 

185, 187, 188. Worsley Mills, 189j 

190. 
Bridgeivater. Battle-ground, 482. 
Briel, Holland, 227. Described, 223, 

224. 
Briggs, Isaac, 468. 
Brindley, James. Notice of, 187, 188, 

264. His Birmingham canal, 181. 
Brisson, M., 164. 
Bristol, England, 181, 196, 197. 
British Channel, 165. 
British Fleet. Sails to the relief of 

Cornwallis, 155. 
British Troops. At East Florida, 65; 



Fairfield, 35 ; Fort Oswego, 345 , 



Newport, Khode Island, 79 ; Phila- 
delphia, 37 ; Trenton, 37 ; Wilming- 
ton, North Carolina, 49. 

Brittany, 123, 124. 

Brock, General, 494. 

Broek, Holland. Described, 253, 254. 

Brooklyn, Lon<* Island, 274. 

Broomsgrove, England, 196. 

Brown, Jacob, General, 481, 482. 

Brown, John. Of Providence, 273. 
Mr. Watson apprenticed to, 20. Pro- 
vides powder for the American army, 
25, 26. His contract to supply the 
army with flour, 27. Seized, and put 
in chains, 27. Two schooners fitted 
out, at Plymouth, for the rescue of, 



29. Keleased, 30. Resolves to de- 
stroy the schooner Gaspee, in 1772, 
28, 29. Mr. Watson makes arrange- 
ments to carry out the plans of, 53. 
One of his brigs, burnt, 53. Mr. 
Watson's partnership with, in 1779, 
89. Founds Brown University, 20. 
His character, 20. 

Brown, Moses. Brother of John, 30. 
His character, 30. 

Brown University. Founded by John 
Brown, of Providence, 20. 

Bruges, France. Described, 149. Canal, 
147. 

Brunswick, North Carolina. Described, 
50. 

Brussels, Belgium. Described, 151. 

Brutus. Township of, 351. Salt-works 
at, 351. 

Buckingham, Duke of. Defeat of the, 
in 1627, 96. 

Buckinghamshire, England, 176. 

Bucklin, Joseph. In the affair of the 
Gaspee, 28,. 29. Shoots Lieutenant 
Duddingston, 28. 

Buffalo, New York, 479, 492. De- 
scribed, 480. Mr. Watson's plan for 
the harbor of, 484. Trips made to, 
by Pennsylvania wagons, 479. 

Buffalo River, 290. 

Bullets. The, used by Spaniards at the 
siege of Haarlem, 247. 

Bull's Island, 297. 

Bunker Rill. Associations of, 81, 82. 

Burgers 1 Ball. At Amsterdam, 249. 

Burgoyne, General. Bears down upon 
Albany, 33. His account of Lady 
Harriet Ackland, 87. Capture of, 51, 
383. 

Burgundy Canal, 112. 

Burke, Edmund, 161, 163. Described, 
200, 201. His remarks on the King's 
speech, in 1782, 206. His "Keflec- 
tions," 172. 

Burlington, Vermont, 407, 408. La 
Fayette at, 38. Mr. Watson at, in 
1777, 37. Afflicted with the cholera, 
520. 

Burns, the Irish Giant, 174. 

Burr, Aaron, 414. 

Butler, Captain, 488. 

Cabbage-seed, Neapolitan, 466. 
" Cabot." American ship, 238. 
Calais, France, 164. 
Colder River, 191. 

Cambray, France. Described, 152, 153. 
Cambridge, Mussachusetts. Old Brick 
College at, 81. 



Index. 



533 



Camden, South Carolina. Described, 
297. Battle-field at, 296, 297. Tomb 
of Baron de Kalb at, 297. 

" Camels," at the Amsterdam docks, 
248. 

Ca?iada. The author's first visit to, 481. 
Boundary, 208. Tour in, 508. Cost 
of the attempted conquest of, 505. 

Canada Creek, 340. 

Canajoharie Mail-wagon, 362. 

Canal. The first American, 43. Am- 
sterdam, 247 ; offensive smell of, 248. 
Birmingham, 180, 181. Duke of 
Bridsrwater's, 185, 187, 188. Brueres, 
147. " Crooked Lake, 509, 510. Delft, 
257 ; smell arising from the, 232. 
Dismal Swamp, proposed by Wash- 
ington, 44. Erie, 371. Great Fulls, 
282. Haarlem, 245. The Hague, 238- 
240. La Chine, 505. Leeds, 189. 
Leyden, 240, 242. Little Falls, 282. 
Manchester, 189. New York and 
Chesapeake, 361. Niagara Falls, 369. 
Ostend, 147. Potomac^ 280. Sardam, 
253. Schuylkill, 460. Seneca Falls, 
282. Shenandoah, 282. Susquehan- 
na, 460. Vorden, 257. Wateree, 297. 
Proposed by Mr. Watson, to cross 
the pine plains, to the grand basin 
back of Albany, 318. Canal Con- 
troversy, 370, Bridge, danger occa- 
sioned by a, 475. Excursion at Man- 
lius, 474. 

Canals. Canadian, 506, 507. Dutch, 
230, 263, 264. English, 263, 264. 
French, 112. Western, in America, 
337,347. Importance of,' 281. Should 
precede settlements, 360. Travelling 
on, in Holland, 147, 148, 257. 

Canandaigua Lake, 478. 

Canandaigua Village, 478. 

Canoe Travelling, 283. 

Canoes, birch, 350, 408. 

Canterbury. Cathedral, 167. 

Cape Cod. Two armed schooners, sent 
for the rescue of Mr. Brown, cruise 
about, 30. 

Cape -Fear River, 50, 290. 

Cape Hatter as, 803. 

Capitol. Of Maryland, Washington re- 
signs his commission at, 282. 

Card-playing, in France, 124. 

Caricature, of a political Baptist preach- 
er, 302, 303. 

Carisbrooke Castle, 215. 

CarlEton, Sir Guy. His fleet, 407. 
His conflict with Arnold, in 1776, 410. 

Carpenters'' Hall, Philadelphia, 276. 

Carter, Ebenezer, 426. 



CasMe River, 299. 

Cashmerean wool, 431. 

Cass, Governor, 491. 

Castle. Carisbrooke, 215. Cellshot, 215. 
Dover, 166, 167. Windsor, 207. 

Castries, The Marshal de, 128. 

Catawba. Chief, 350. Indian, educated, 
295, 315, 316. Indian tribe, 294, 295. 

Catawba Eiver, 295. 

Catfish, 341, 342, 344. 

Catharine, The Empress. Littlepage, 
one of the favorites of, 132. 

Cathedral. Haarlem, 246. Montreal, 
504, 505. Nantes, 212. Salisbury, 
216. Utrecht, 265. See Churches. 

Cattle. Improved breed of, 421. 

Cattle-shows, 421, 422, 499. 

Causeivay. Blois, 113. Haarlem, 247. 

Causeway Travelling, 479. 

Cayuga Agricultural Society, 476. 

Cayuga Lake, 351, 352, 855. Described, 
356. 

Cellslwt Castle, 215. 

Census. Of the United States, Mr. Wat- 
son's estimates of the, 522, 523, 524. 

Ceres. The wreath of, 470. 

Cersier, M., 500. 

Certificate. Of the Freedom of the City 
of Albany, 326. 

Chain. Iron, at Damietta, across the 
Nile, 229, 247. 

Chair. Shakspeare's, 178. 

Chantenay, France, 99. 

Chantilly, France, 144, 163. Palace of, 
144. 

Charles I. At Carisbrooke Castle, 215. 

Charleston, South Carolina. Described, 
52, 67. Its forts and commerce ; and 
its elegant and accomplished women, 
67. Sir Peter Parker at, in 1776, 68. 
Visited by Mr. Watson, in 1777, 82. 
Society of, 54. Destructive Are at, in 
1777, 54, 55. Anecdote of Mr. Wat- 
son and Governor Eutledge, 55. 

Charlotte, Qneen, of England. Visits 
the rooms of Mrs. Wright, 138. 

Charlotte, North Carolina, 294. 

Charnel-house. At Stratford-upon-Avon, 
'178, 179. 

Chartres, Due de, 108. 

Chatham, England, 167. 

Chatham, North Carolina. White Sav- 
age at, 298, 299. 

Chaumont, M. Le Eay de, 103. His son 
in America, 103. 

Cheetham, and his followers, 418. 

Cherokee. Chief, Little Carpenter, 350. 
Indians, on their way to Charleston, 
in 1777, 58. 



534 



Index. 



Cherwell River, 177. 

Chesapeake Bay, 347. Connection of 
the, with Albemarle Sound, 285. 

Chesterfield, Lord. His opinion of 
the Hague, 238. 

Chicago, Illinois. The cholera at, 520. 

Child, Mr. The broker, 173, 174. 

Child. Rescue of a, at the Hague, 236. 

Childs, Honorable Henry H., 422, 521. 

Chime of Bells. On the Stadhuis at 
Amsterdam, 249, 250. Dutch chimes, 
228, 229. 

Chippewa, Canada West. Battle-ground 
at, 481. 

Chippewa River, 481. 

Cholera, Asiatic, 519, 520. 

Chowan River, 300, 303. Mr. Watson's 
plantation on the, 300. 

CJiristiana, Delaware, 277. 

Chub Fish, 341. 

Churches. Dutch, 233. The church at 
Leyclcn, in which the Puritans wor- 
shipped, 241. Church of St. Law- 
rence, at Rotterdam, 227, 229. The 
Kino-'s Chapel, at Windsor, 207. The 
Royal Chapel at Versailles, 208. Po- 
litical scene in a church, in North 
Carolina, 302. See Cathedral. 

Cicero, Town of, New York, 344. 

Circular, Agricultural. Sent by Mr. 
Watson to American foreign consuls, 
in 1818, 458. 

City Nail, New York, 390, 391. 

Clark, Mr. Of New Haven, 56. 

Clay, Henry, 524. 

Cleaveland, or Cleveland, Ohio, 489, 492. 

Clergy. Conduct of the American, at 
the period of the Revolutionary war, 
32. 

Clermont, France, 163. 

Clinton, General. Reinforces the Brit- 
ish fleet and army, in 1779, 89. 

Clinton, De Witt. One of the Com- 
missioners at the Indian Treaty, in 
1788, 313. His interest in the subject 
of canals, 371, 372 ; and of agricul- 
ture, 456, 466. Dr. Hosack's Memoir 
of, 78, 378.. 

Clothiers' Hall. At Halifax, England, 
192. At Leeds, 193. 

Coal-cart travelling, 284. 

Goal Mines. At Worsley Mills, Eng- 
land, 190. In Virginia, 43. 

Ofhham, Virginia, 43. 

" Cock" Coffee House, 174, 175. 

Cock-fight. At Hampton, Virginia, 300, 
301. 

Cockney, English. 227. 

Cod fisheries. 92, 93. 



Coffin, Mr. A., 499. 

Cohoes Falls, 317. 

Coleman, Henry, Tribute to, 525. Let- 
ter from, 525, 526. 

Coleman, Lieutenant, 86, 87. 

College. Cambridge, Massachusetts, 81. 
Princeton, 37, 288. Union, Schenec- 
tady, 308, 413. William and Mary, 
43, 295. Yale, 35. Brown Universi- 
ty, Providence, 20. 

Colonies. Prospects of the, in 1777, 33. 

Colony. The, at Marietta, founded by 
General Varnum, 385. 

Colonization, African, 267. 

Colt, Benjamin, 369. 

Columbia. See District of Columbia. 

"Columbus." American ship, 238. 

Commissioners. Of the Land Office, 
381. On the Indian Treaty, in 1788, 
313, 315. 

Committee of Safety. At Plymouth, 29. 

Commons, House of, 206. 

" Common Sense," Tom Paine's. Ef- 
fect produced by, 127. 

CoNde, Prince of,' 144. 

Confederacy, American, 262. 

Confessional, The. Effect of, in France, 
100. 

Congress. Place of meeting of the first 
American, 276. Meeting of, at York, 
in 1777, 41. Conduct of, tpward Eli 
Whitney, 59. The Berkshire Agri- 
cultural Society's Memorial to, in 
1816, 467, 468. 

Congress Spring, Saratoga, 335. 

Connecticut. Mr. Watson traverses, in 
1788, 305. The cholera in, 520. 

Connecticut River, 34. 

" Constellation ." American frigate. 389. 

" Constitution, ." American frigate, 487, 
488. 

Constitution, The Federal. Rejected in 
North Carolina, 303. See Federal. 

Consuls, American foreign. Mr. Wat- 
son's Agricultural Circular to the, in 
1818, 458. 

Consumption, The. Caused by the use 
of hot tea, 266. 

Continental Troops. On their way to 

Valley Forge, 76. 
Contralx, M., in America, 387. 
Conway, General, 201. On American 

Independence. 206. 
Cooper, Dr. A letter from, presented 
to the wax figure of Dr. Franklin, 143. 

Cooper River, 52, 53, 297. 
Copley, John Sinoleton. Portrait of 
Mr. Watson, by, 202, 203. At the 
House of Lords, 206. 



Index. 



535 



Cornwall, England. Tin mines at, 180. 

Cornwallis, Lord. At the battle of 
Guilford, 290, 291, 292. At Wilming- 
ton, North Carolina, 49. Passes the 
residence of Colonel Ashe, 286. His 
marquee, 313. Capture of, 154, 155, 
160. 

"Corporal" Fish, 344. 

Cossoul, M., 142, 283. . 

Costome. Mr. Watson's, described by 
himself, 284. 

Cotton, Priscilla, Mrs. Sister of Mr. 
Watson, 21. Her longevity, 21. Her 
copy of a Revolutionary Ballad, 21. 

Cotton, Culture of, in Georgia, 63. 
Sea-island, 63. Export and value of, 
63. Cotton Cards, manufactured in 
Massachusetts and exported to Eng- 
land, 453. 

Country frolic, in England, 188. 

" Courier de V Europe," edited by M. 
Brissot, 164. 

Court of Holland, 239. 

Courtesan, reformed, 323. 

Covent Garden Square, 217. 

Cowes, Isle of Wight, 215. 

Cowles's Ferry, 37. 

Cowpens. Battle of the, 286. 

Cows. In Friesland, 260. 

Grab Orchard, 299. 

Craig, Mr. American consul, 94, 95. 

Crane's Wharf 321. 

Crellon, Due DE, 131. 

Crooked Lake, 511. Canal, 509, 510. 

Cross Lake, 350. 

Crown Point, 406, 407. 

Cumberland Bay, 408. 

Cumberland-head, 408, 409. 

Custis, Mr., of Arlington, 396. Miss, 139. 

Cuyahoga River, 489. 

D., Major. Story of, 320, 321. 

Damietta, Egypt, 229, 246. Iron chain 
at, 229. 

Banbury, Connecticut. Road to, pur- 
sued by the British, 35. General 
Wooster and Arnold at, 35. Anec- 
dote of a suffering patriot at, 35. 

Dancing, Shaker, at New Lebanon, 
New York, 333. 

Danforth, Mr. General Humphreys 
corresponds with, 431. 

Dartford, England, 167. 

Dawson, Captain. Captures Captain 
Sampson, 90. 

Leaf and Dumb Lnstitution, New York, 
470. 

Deal, England, 269. 

Dkane, Silas, 151, 152. 



De Barras, Count. Joins Count de 

Grasse, 155. 
DeBurg Castle, 242, 243. Well at, 243. 
Declaration of Lndependence. Trumbull's 

picture of the, 102. At the State 

House, Philadelphia, 276. 
Deer. On Port Royal Island, 59. Hunt- 
ing, in North Carolina, 46, 288. Hunt- 
ing, by torch-light, 49. 
Defiance, Fort, 442. 
De Geislaer, M., 500. 
De Grasse, Count, 154, 181. 
Delaware River, 37. 
Delft, Holland, 227, 236. Canal, 257. 

Earthenware, 232. Porcelain, 232. 

Stadhuis, 231. Streets, 232. 
Delftshaven, Holland, 224. The place 

where the Puritans embarked for 

America, 225. 
Demmartin, Ja. de. His letter to Mr. 

Watson, 209, 210. 
Derby, England. Described, 195, 196. 

Silk manufacture at, 196. Porcelain, 

196. 
Derwent River, 194. 
Descent from the Cross, valuable picture 

of the, belonging to the Due de 

Chartres, 108. 
Desjardins, M. At Albany, 388. 
Dessein, M. At Calais, 164. 
Detroit, Michigan, 491. Described, 493. 

Wolves at, 494. Distance from, to 

Fort Cumberland, 281. Mr. Wat- 
son's tour to, in 1818, 473. 
"Detroit." British ship, 486. 
Detroit River, 490. 

DeviVs Hole, Rhode Island. Mr. Wat- 
son's escape from death, at the, 323. 
Devizes, England. Sudden death of a 

woman at, 199, 200. 
De Witt, Moses, 344. The two patriotic 

brothers, 240. 
Dickinson, John, 435. 
Dickinson, Mr. Assists in dressing the 

wound of Lieutenant Duddingston,29. 
Dillon, Count. Count Dupin marries 

the daughter of, 387. 
Dinner-party, French. Described, 103, 

104. 
Dismal Swamp. Of North Carolina, 44, 

285. Travellers attacked, and Mr. 

Williams murdered at, 44. Canal 

through, 44. 
District of Columbia. False account of 

the, 302. 
Divine Justice. Exhibited, in the death 

of a woman at Devizes, 199, 200. 
Dog. Belonging, to William I., Prince 

of Orange, dies of grief, 232. 



536 



Index. 



Dolphin fish. Account of the, 93. 

Domestic Manufactures, 425, 426, 452, 
463, 464. 

Don River, 194. 

Dort, Holland, 227. 

D'Orvilliers, Admiral, 217. 

Douay, France. Described, 153. 

Douglas, Mr. At Schenectady, 362. 

Dover, England. Described, 166. Cas- 
tle, 166, 167. Well, 167. 

Dracitt, Massachusetts, 81. 

Drawbridges. At the Hague, 239. 

Dresden, New York, 510. 

Dreux, France. Koman towers near, 
101. 

Drummond, Colonel, 482. Death of, 484. 

Drummond Lake, North Carolina, 44, 
285. 

Drunkards, American, 516. 

Duche, Eev. Mr. Account of the, 32. 

Duddingston, William, Lieutenant. 
Commander of the schooner Gaspee, 
27. Shot by Joseph Bucklin, 28. 
His wound dressed, 29. 

Dumas, M., 234, 500. 

Dunkers, The. Described, 39, 40, 

Dunkirk, New York, 491. 

Dunmore, Lord, 283. His palace, 43. 

Dunn, Benjamin, Captain. In the 
affair of the schooner Gaspee, 28, 29. 

Dupin, Latour, Count, 387, 388. 

Dutch. Canals, 230 ; smell arising from, 
232. Carriages, 226. Chimes, 228, 

229. Churches, 233. Custom at 
table, 36. Government, 261. Jew: 
see Jew. Language, analogy of the, 
to English, 226. Language in Al- 
bany, 307. Liberty, 262. Packet- 
boat, 230. Population of Albany, 
307. Eoads, 258. Senate, 262. Sen- 
sibility, 243, 244. Settlement, near 
Morristown, 36. Society, 259. To- 
bacco smoking, 230. Trekschuit, 

230. Villas, 230. Wagons, 259. 
Women, 223. 

Dwight, Eev. Dr., 283. 

Dykes. In Holland, 259. Importance 

of, 234. Opening of, at the siege of 

Ley den, 240, 241. 

Earthenware. Dutch, at Delft, 232. 

English, 232. 
East Florida, 63, 64. 
East India trade, 258. 
Eddy, Thomas, 368. 
Eddy stone Light-house, 216, 217. 
Edenton, North Carolina, 283, 285, 287. 

Described, 44. Eomantic oak near, 

45. 



Education. State of, in North Caroli- 
na, in 1786, 290. Sons of Southern 
planters, educated in Europe, 68. 

Edivard, Fort, 84. 

Eel-wears, formed by Indians, 344. 

Effingham, Earl of, 200. 

" Effingham." American frigate, 201. 

Egg, magic. Story of a, 31. 

Egg-shells. Superstition of sailors re- 
specting, 269, 270. 

Eldridge's Tavern, 338. 

Election. English, in London, 217. In 
Virginia, 71. At Warrenton, North 
Carolina, 286, 287. 

Elizabeth : see Queen Elizabeth. 

Eliotfs Biographical Dictionary, 435. 

Elk Greek, 277. 

Elk Ridge. Iron works at, 73. 

Elkton, Maryland. Washington at, in 
1777, 277. 

Elliot, Barnard. His residence, 58. 

Ellsworth, Henry L. Mr. Watson's 
letter to, 462. Letter from, 464. 

Elm Tree. At Pittsfield, 420. 

Elysian Fields, at Paris, 110. 

Emancipation, African, 267. 

Embankments. In Holland, importance 
of, 234. 

Emigration. Western, in America, 299. 

Encyclopedia, Edinburgh, 220. 

England. First Canal in, 263, 264. 
Contrasted with America, 169, 170 ; 
and with France, 168. Destiny of, 
202. Discovers American secret ne- 
gotiations with Holland, 90. Ex- 
penses of living in, 176. Proposed 
French invasion of, 117. Treaty of 
peace between America and, 208. 
Visited by Mr. Watson, in 1782, 168. 
War of, with Holland, in 1779, 90. 
John Adams's censures of, 436, 437. 
See English. 

English. Agriculture, 275. Delft ware, 
232. Election, 217. Houses, 221. 
Language, analogy of Dutch to the, 
226. Nobility, 201. Peasantry, 176. 
Pickpockets, 221. Police, 221*. Pu- 
gilism, 221. Servants, 169. Shops, 
221. Streets, 221. Tea-drinking, 
265. Travelling, 175. 

Eno River, 290, 297. 

Epitaph. Boerhaave's, 242. Braakel's, 
229. Eousseau's, 153. Mr. Watson's, 
527. 

Erasmus. Statue of, at Eotterdam, 227. 

Erie, Pennsylvania. Described, 485. 
Bar of, 485. Battle of Erie, 486. 

Erie Canal, £71, 476. 

Erie, Lake : see Lake Erie. 



Index. 



537 



Ermenonville, France, 153. 
Essex County, New York. Scenery of, 
410, 411. 

Estaino, Count d\ Commander of a 
French fleet sent to America, 87. 
Pursues Lord Howe's fleet, at New- 
port, 88. Sails for Boston, and leaves 
the American army to its fate, 89. 
Generals Sullivan and La Fayette re- 
monstrate with, 89. Captures Gre- 
nada, 113. 

Euphrates, Pennsylvania. Described, 
^ 39. The Diinkers at, 39, 40. 

Evans, Mr. His mill-machinery, 277. 

Exchange. Amsterdam, 250. London. 
266. Rotterdam,- 250. 

Export. Of Cotton, 63. Of Cotton 
Cards, 453. 

Factories, Wollen, 421. 

Fairfield, Connecticut, 283. The inhabi- 
tants of, repel the British and Tories, 
35. Visited by the author, in 1777, 34. 

Fall Hill, 338. 

Falls of St. Mary, 508. See Adgate's, 
Glenn's, and Niagara. 

Farmer. American, anecdote of an, 271, 
272. Pennsylvania, 74. New Eng- 
land, 308. 

Faust, John, 246. 

" Faustus," Dr., 246. 

Fauxbourg St. Germain, 102. 

Federal Constitution. Discussion on 
the, in North Carolina, 301, 302. Re- 
jected, in North Carolina, 303. 

Female Influence, 425, 430, 456, 463. 

Fenelon, Archbishop. His palace, 153. 

Ferrers, Earl, 179, 201. His house, 196. 

Fire. The cry of, never heard by Mr. 
Watson, while he was in France, 212. 

Fish. In Wood Creek, 341. Caught in 
the well at De Burg Castle, 243. 

Fish Creek, 341. 

Fisheries. Dutch Herring, 260. 

Fishing. Indian, 344. 

Fitzgerald, Colonel, 278. 

Flag, American, 203, 228. 

Flanders. Austrian, Roman priests of, 
151. French, 145. 

Flat Rock. Described, 296. 

Fleche, La : see La FUche. 

Fleet. British, seeks refuge at Newport, 
Rhode Island, S8 ; sails to the relief 
of Cornwaliis, 155. French, under 
Count d'Estaing, 85 ; appears off 
Newport, 88 ; disabled and scattered 
by a storm, in 1779, 89. 

Floating Bridge. Over the Schuylkill 
River, 277. 

23* 



Florida, East, 63, 64. 

Flouring Mills. At Brandywine Creek, 

277. 
Forefathers' Bock. At Plymouth, Mas- 
sachusetts, removal of, 23. 
Forest of Orleans, 111. 
Forsyth's, at Niagara Falls, 481. 
Forts. Brewerton, 344. Cumberland, 
navigation from Georgetown to, 280. 
Defiance, 442. Edward, 84. French, 
at Lake Erie, 488. George, 359, 494. 
Herkimer, 338. Johnson, 67. La 
Pree, 96. McHenrv, 73. Meigs, 489. 
Moultrie, 67, 68. Oswego, 3.14, 345. 
Schuyler, 338. Stanwix, 308, 312, 313, 
338, 339 ; described, 340. 
Fox, Charles James, 201, 206. At the 

hustings, 217. 
Foxes. Abound on Port Royal Island, 59. 
France. Mr. Watson visits, in 1779, 
89, 94. Visits the northern provinces 
of, 144. Acknowledges the Indepen- 
" dence of the United States, 87. Sends 
a fleet to America, 87. Merino sheep 
from, 395. Temperance in, 516. Con- 
trasted with America, 169 ; and with 
England, 168. Anticipated war be- 
tween the United States and, 388. 
See French. 
Francis I. The Palace of, 109. 
Franklin, Benjamin. Obtains posses- 
sion of the Hutchinson Letters, 45. 
Appears before the Privy Council, 45. 
At Passy, France, 96. Mr. Watson 
visits, 102, 162 ; and dines with, 103, 
109, 182, 154. His letter to Dr. Priest- 
ley, respecting the naval battle of Rod- 
ney and de Grasse, 181. His remark 
respecting Silas Deane, 152. Note 
from the Count of Vergennes to, 155, 
156. Assails the system of quit-rents, 
39. His Armonica, 154. His popu- 
larity in France, 103, 106. His kind 
manners, 201. Described, 102. His 
disagreement with Mr. Adams, 329, 
330. Mrs. Wright's wax likeness of, 
140. Visits to the wax figure of, at 
Nantes, 141 ; and at London, 142, 143. 
Rumored death of, 208. Grave of, 
329. 
Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, 

235. 
Fredericksburg, Virginia, Described, 
42. Elegant Plantations at, 42. The 
Blue Ridge, visible from, 42. The 
residence of Washington's mother, 
at, 43. Louis Littlepage dies at, 132. 
Fredericktown, Maryland. Mr. Watson 



538 



Index. 



Freedom of the City of Albany. Mr. 
Watson*'s Certificate of the, 326. 

Free-schools, 389. 

French. Bidet, 97. Card-playing, 124. 
Confessional, 100. Country wedding, 
118, 119. Dialect, at Utrecht, 256. 
Dinner-party, 103, 104, 126. Fuel, 111. 
Hermit, 343." Houses, 221. Hunting, 
royal, 213. Manners, 103, 104, 110, 
124-126 ; in Philadelphia, 276. Mu- 
sical taste, 120. National Bank, 213. 
Officer, anecdote of a, and a negro, 
57. Patrol, 100. Peasantry, 101, 119. 
Police, 221. Postillion, 97, 98. Revo- 
lution, 119, 218. Servants, 169. Shops, 
221. Streets, 221. Tailor, 105. Tea- 
' drinking, 265. Travel ling- vehicle, 97. 
Vineyards, 111. Wedding, in the 
country, 118, 119. 

French Flanders, 145. 

French Fort, at Lake Erie, 488. 

French River, 50S. . .. 

Friedland: see Friesland. 

Friesland, Holland, 257. Described, 
260. Horses, cows, and sheep, 260. 

Frigate. British, pursues, and captures 
the packet Mercury, 89, 93. British, 
burnt near Newport, 88. French, " La 
Sensible," 92. See " Constellation," 
" Constitution," "Effingham" etc. 

Fuel, French, 111. 

Fulton, Robert, 396. Letter from, 443, 
444. 

Fur Trade, 280. 

Gage. General. Stations British troops 

at Marshfield, 24. Withdraws them 

to Boston, 25. 
Gambler. Story of a, 320-322. 
Gansevoort, Colonel. At Fort Stan- 

wix, 313. 
Gardens. Of Count Bentinck, 234. 
Garrick, the sister of, 184. 
Garvey, Dr., 301. Anecdote of, and a 

Baptist preacher, 302, 303. 
Gaspee, The schooner. Account of the 

destruction of the, 27-29. 
Gates, General. At Camden, South 

Carolina, 296, 297. 
" General Scott." Catawba Indian 

Chief, 294. Death of, 296. 
Genet, Edmund C. Letter from, 418. 
Genesee Flats, 478. 
Genesee River, 359. 
Geneva, New York, 354. Described, 

478. 
George, III. Seen by Mr. Watson, in 

1782, 350. At Richmond, 173. At 

Windsor, 207. His speech, in De- 



cember, 1782, 204, 205. Visits the 
rooms of Mrs. Wright, 138. 

George IV. His appearance and char- 
acter, 201, 202. 

George, Fort, 359, 494. 

Georgetown, District of Columbia, 72. 

Georgetown, Maryland. Navigation from, 
to Fort Cumberland, 280. 

Georgetown, South Carolina, 52, 67. 

" George Washington." American ship, 
268. 

Georgia. Mr. Watson's tour to, 56, 61. 

Gerard, M. French Ambassador to 
the United States, 92. 

German. Custom of sleeping between 
two beds, 39. Girls at work in the 
fields, in Pennsylvania, 39. Popula- 
tion of Pennsylvania, 37. Settlement 
near Morristown, 36. Table customs, 
36. 

German Flats, New York, 309, 338. 
Sufferings of the inhabitants, 309. 

German Ocean, 268. 

Germantown, Pennsylvania. Battle of, 
39. 

Germany. Joseph, Emperor of, 258, 
350. 

Gerry, Elbridge, 273. Letter from, 
422. 

Ghent, Belgium, 149. Described, 150. 

Gibbets. A negro hung in, 42. 

Gibes, Mr. Of Philadelphia, 68. 

Gibraltar, 202. Louis Littlepage at, 132. 

Girardin, Marquis de, 153. 

Glenn's Falls, 404. 

Gloucester, England, 197. 

Gobelin Tapestry, 108. 

Gold, Thomas, 428. 

" Golden Lion " Inn, Liverpool, 186. 

Goodwin, Henry, 384. 

Goodwin Sands, 268. 

Gosport, England. Military Hospital at, 
214. 

Gouging. Savage practice of, in Vir- 
ginia, 41, 71, 72. 

Government. Dutch, 261. United 
States of America, 262. 

Governor. French, at the He de Rhe, 
95. 

Granby, Mr. Mr. Watson at the house 
of, 44. His cold reception of Mr. 
Watson, 284. 

Grace before Meals. Dutch and German 
mode of saying, 36. 

Grande Marie, 493. 

Grand River, 489, 492. 

Granger, Gideon, 474. 

Grasse, Count de, 154, 181. 

Grave of Shakspeare, 178. 



Index. 



539 



Great Barrmgton, Massachusetts. De- 
scribed, 306. 

Great Britain : see England. 

Great Falls, 281, 282. 

Green, Mr. Of Birmingham, 176, 196. 
His house, 179. Supper at his house, 
188. Accompanies Mr. Watson to 
Litchfield, 184. 

Green, Captain. Of the Warwick 
Greens, 23, 384. 

Greene, Nathaniel, General. A pri- 
vate soldier at Lexington, 28. Briga- 
dier-General, 384. At Camden, 
South Carolina, 296, 297. At Guil- 
ford, 290, 291. At Providence, in 
1777, 384. With the army at Khode 
Island, 88. At the Yadkin, 294. A 
Quaker soldier, 384. Mr. Watson's 
familiar acquaintance with, 273. Let- 
ter from, 278. 

Greene, Mrs. Widow of General 
Greene, 59. Anecdote of her and Eli 
Whitney,. 59. 

Greenwich^ England, 167. Hospital, 170. 

Greenwich, Massachusetts, 86. 

Grenada. Capture of, by Count d'Es- 
taing, 113. 

Grindstones. At Cleveland, 490. 

Grodno, Russia. Louis Littlepage at, 
131. 

Groningen, Netherlands, 257. 

Grosse Island, 490. 

Ground-rents. William Penn's, the sys- 
tem of, assailed by Dr. Franklin, 39. 
Abolished, 39. 

Guelderland, Holland, 257. 

Guernsey, Island of, 323. 

Guilford Court House. Battle-ground 
at, 290, 291. 

Gulf Stream, 92. 

Gypsum. In New York, 476. Use of, 
in agriculture, 396. 

H., Mr. Exciting story of, 322-326. 

Haarlem, Holland. Canal, 245. Cathe- 
dral, 246. Causeway, 247. Organ, 
246. Siege of, 247. 

Haarlem Lake, 245, 247, 255, 257. 
Bleaching at, 247. 

Hackensack River, 275. 

Hacker Tavern, 321. 

Hackney, England, 171. 

Hagley, England, 196. 

Hague, The. Described, 232, 238, 239. 
Canal, 236, 239, 240. Drawbridges 
at, 289. La Maison du Bois, 234, 235. 
Meeting of the States General at, 261. 
Military parade at, 283. Distant view 
of, 227. 



Haight, General, 511. 

Half Moon, New York, 317. 

Halifax, England, 190, 191. Described, 
192. 

Halifax, North Carolina, 70, 286. 

Hall, George A. His plantation, 65. 

Hall, Mr. North Carolina planter, 70. 

Hallock's Hil\ 408. 

Hallowell, Maine, 162. 

Hamilton, Alexander. His financial 
system, 382. A political enemy of 
Mr. John Adams's, 399, 400. His 
virulent pamphlet, 400, 401. Dr. 
Nott's sermon on the death of, 413, 
414. 

Hampton Plains, 274. 

Hancock, John. In command of the 
Massachusetts militia, on Rhode 
Island, 88. Eulogy on, by John 
Adams, 435. 

Hanging Rock. Described, 296. Gen- 
eral Sumter at, 296. 

Hanover, Pennsylvania, 41. 

Hanover Court House, Virginia, 71. 

Hartford, Connecticut. Described, 84. 
Agricultural society, 461. Conven- 
tion, 447. Woollen and glass factories 
at, 452. 

Hartwick Fairs, 488. 

Harwick, England, 222. 

Harwood, Captain. Mr. Watson's 
travelling companion, 43, 47. His 
character, 47. Anecdote of, and a 
barber, 48. Assaults naked negroes 
at Winyaw Bay, 52. 

Haslett, Governor, 443. 

Haiteras, Cape, 308. 

Havre-de-Grace, France, 104. 

Hawfeld, North Carolina, 290. 

Haw River, 290. 

Heath, Rev. Mr., 158. 

Helvoetsloys, or Helvoetsluis, Holland, 
222, 264. 

Henley, England, 176. 

Henry, Patrick, 485. 

Herkimer, General, 312. 

Herkimer, Fort, 388. 

Hermit, French, 348. 

Hessians. At Quaker Hill, 89. Cap- 
tured at Trenton, 32. The orchard at 
Trenton, where they laid down their 
arms, 37. General Varnum's letter to 
the commanding officer of the, 384. 
On Long Island, in 1777, 384. 

Hessian Fly, 437. 

High Bridge, at Au Sable River, 410. 

Highgate, England, 219. 

Highlands, The. Of the Hudson River, 
318. 



540 



Index. 



High Mightinesses, The. Of Holland, 
261, 262. 

Highwaymen, English, 171. 

Hillsborough, North Carolina, 297, 299. 
Described, 290. 

Hobart, John Sloss, Judge, 274, 390, 
399. 

Hogs. On the Koanoke plantations, 70. 

Holbein. Works of art by, at the 
Hague, 240. 

Holland. The author's voyage to, 222. 
Described, 230, 259. North, 253. 
North and South, 259. Army of, 
263. Canals, 263. Cheapness of 
travelling in, 257. Commerce, 260. 
Destiny of, 258. Downs, 259. Dykes, 
259. Government, 261. Industry 
and enterprise, 260. Inundations, 
259. Meadows, 259. Navy, 263. 
Population, 258. Republic, 257. 
Eevenue, 263. Revolution in, 223, 
224. Seasons, 257, 258. Spouts over 
the canals in, 327. Tea-drinking, 
265. American secret negotiations 
with, discovered by England, 90. 
Obligations of, to John Adams, 237. 
Volume of the author's tour in, 236. 

Holland Land Company, 478. 

Hollanders in America, character of, 224. 

Honeywood, S. J. The poet, his paint- 
ing of the Death of Virginia, 399. 

Hood, Lord, 217, 218. 

Hoogland, Captain. Account of, 36. 

Hbpital des Invalides. Described, 107. 

Hopkins, John B., Captain. In the af- 
fair of the schooner Gaspee, 28, 29. 

Hophinton, New York. Road to, 511, 
512. 

Horicon. Lake George, 405, 406. 

Horned snake. Of North Carolina, 
described, 70. 

Horse-cart travelling, 266. 

Horse-carts. Used, in supplying Paris 
with water, 222. 

Horse-patrol, in France, 100. 

Horses. In Friesland ; 260. Oxen used 
instead of, in agriculture, by Ger- 
mans, 337. 

Hosack, David, Dr. His account of Dr. 
Williamson's obtaining the Hutchin- 
son Letters, 45. Colonel Troup's let- 
ter to, 372-378. His memoir of De 
Witt Clinton, 78, 372, 378. 

Hospitality. In North Carolina, 289. 

Hot Well's. At Brandon, 197, 198. 

Hotel d 1 York, Paris, 102, 137, 141. 

Hounds. Mr. Watson attacked by, 45. 

House of Commons, 206. 

House of Lords, 201, 203. 



Houses. Amsterdam, 249. The Hague, 
239. London, 221. Paris, 221. Rot- 
terdam, 249. 

Howe, Lord, 202, 203. Approaches 
Philadelphia, 33. At Newport, 88. 
At Gibraltar, 206. 

Howe^s Gove, 406. 

Hudson, Mr. At Schenectady, 362. 

Hudson, New York. Described, 806. 

Hudson River, 347. Described, 318, 
319. Sounded, by Mr. Watson, 318. 
Ferry-boat, 275. Mr. Watson crosses 
the, in 1777, 36. 

Huguenots, The. Rochelle, the strong- 
hold of, 97. Migrate to America, 97. 

Hull, General. His Indian treaty, 441, 
442. Mr. Watson's toast, respecting, 
441. His surrender, 494. Letters 
from, 441-443. 

Humphreys, General. At the sheep- 
shearing festival, in 1810, 394. His 
letter on the subject of wool and 
sheep, 895. Letters from, 431. His 
correspondence with Mr. Danforth, 
430. 

Hungary. Death of the Queen of, 125. 

Hungerford, England, 200. 

Hunter, Colonel. His factory on the 
Rappahannock, 42. 

Hunting. On the Pamlico Sound, 46. 
In North Carolina, 46, 49, 288. Royal, 
in France, 122, 123, 213. 

Huntington, Countess of, 64. 

Huntington, Long Island, 274. 

Hurlbut, John W., 447, 468. 

Hurl- gate, New York, 274. 

Husbands. Power of, in France, 212. 

Hussey, Paul, Captain. Of Providence, 
68. His character, 68. His night 
adventure, 69. Encounters a horned 
snake, 70. At Bethlehem, Pennsyl- 
vania, 75. 

Hutchinson, Thomas, Governor, 435. His 
celebrated letters, 45. 

Hutchinson, Elisha. Son of Governor, 
179, 498. 

Hyslop, General, 487, 488. 

Ignatuis Sancho : see Sancho. 

He de Rhe, 94, 95. Described, 96. 

Illuminations. In France, on account 
of the capture of Cornwallis, 156. 

Importation. Of tea, in Great Britain, 
62. 

Impressment, British system of, 186. 

Independence, American. Opposition to, 
in America, in 1775, 127. Dr. Frank- 
lin's part in effecting, 106. Acknowl- 
edgment of, by England, 162, 174, 204, 



Index. 



541 



205. Trumbull's picture of the Dec- 
laration of, 102. Declaration of, at 
the State House, Philadelphia, 276. 

India Trade , 258. 

Indian. Birch canoes, 408. Castle, 355. 
Catawba, educated, 315. Character, 

. 315, 316. Drunken frolic, 312. Eel- 
wears, 344. Fishing, 344. Habits, 
permanent, 350. Languages, 346. 
Little Carpenter, Chief, 58, 350. Onei- 
da chief, educated in France, 315. 
Orchards, 354. Eobbery, 349. Eoyal 
Family, 350. Saltmakers, 349, 350. 
Territory, 310. Treaty, in 1788, 313. 
314. 

Indians. Catawba, 294-296. "New 
Elver," Chief, 294, 295. Of Michigan, 
degraded, 494. Mohawk, at Oriskany, 
311, 312. Onondago, their King and 
Queen, 345, 346. 

Indian Hill. Phylactery found at, 448. 

Influenza. Mr. Watson attacked with, 
160. 

Inland Navigation, 336, 357, 358. Be- 
tween the lakes and the Hudson 
Eiver, 315. General Schuyler's re- 
marks on, 363-367. Eobert Morris's 
letter on, 367, 368. In Virginia, 72. 
Importance of, 340. 

Inoculation. Of Mr. Watson, 77. See 
Small-pox. 

Intemperance Asylums, 518. 

Irish. Charmen, at an election in Lon- 
don, 217, 218. Ghole, furious, 60, 61. 
Giant, 174. Merchant, at the London 
Stock Exchange, 266. 

Irishman. Anecdote of an, at Warren- 
ton, 287. 

Irk River, 189. 

Iron chain. At Damietta, 229. 

Irwell River, 187, 189. 

Island of Quernsey, 323. 

Isle de Rhe : see lie de Rhe. 

Isle of Wight, 214, 215. 

James II. Palace of, at St. Germain, 
109. 

James River. Described, 43, 71. 

Jamestown, Virginia. Historical asso- 
ciations of, 43. 

Jasper, Sergeant. His exploit, at Fort 
Moultrie, 68, 69. 

'* Java. 11 British frigate, captured by the 
American frigate ''Constitution," 487, 
488. 

Jay, John, 131, 162. Vindicates the 
character of Dr. Franklin, 330. His 
controversy with Louis Littlepage, 
132. 



Jefferson, Thomas. His letter to Mr. 

Watson, 468,469. 
Jefferson County, New York, 103. 
Jeffreys, G. W. Mr. Watson's letter 

to, 470. 
Jenkins, Elisha, Colonel, 131. Letter 

from, 416. 
Jew, Dutch. Imitates, with his pipe, 

the crying of a child, 254. 
Jews- Harp music, 397. 
Joan of Arc : see Orleans. 
Johnson, Fort, 67. 
Johnson Hall, 308. 
Johnstone, Commodore, 206. 
Johnstown, New York, 308. 
Joseph. Emperor of Germany, 146, 

147, 151, 350. 

Kalb, Baron de. Tomb of the, 297. 

Xeeseville, New York, 411. Mr. Wat- 
son's Address at, 515. 

Kennesley, Ebenezer, 379. 

Ketchum, Captain, 483. 

Kiadote, Chief of the Onondaga In- 
dians, 345, 346, 350. 

Kino, Eufds, 273. 

King's Ferry. Mr. Watson at, in 1777, 
36. 

"King's Head," hotel, at Dover, Eng- 
land, 165. 

Knox, Major. Brother of General, sails 
for Europe, in 1779, 92. In France, 
94. 

Koster, Alderman. Statue of, 246. 

La Fayette, Marquis de. At Bethle- 
hem, Pennsylvania, 37. At Brandy- 
wine, wounded, 37. At Burlington, 
Vermont, 38. At New York, 38. At 
Providence, 37. At the house of 
Governor Van Ness, 38. With the 
army on Ehode Island, 88. Eemon- 
strates with Count d'Estaing, 89. 
Embarks for France, in 1825, 38. 
Educates an Oneida Chief, 315. De- 
scribed, 37, 38. Portrait of, at An- 
napolis, 282. 

Lachine Canal, 505. 

Lachine Village, Canada East, 507. 

La Felche, France, 100, 133. Cure of, 
133, 134. 

La Fleur. Mr. Watson's servant, story 
of, 161. His fidelity, 164. Mr. Wat- 
son plays the part of, at Angers, 208. 
Mr. Watson's farewell to, 212. 

Lake Champlain, 406-408, 503. 

Lake Champlain Canal, 364, 512. 

Lake Drummond, 44, 285. 

Lake Erie, 491. Voyage up, 484. 



542 



Index. 



Lake Erie Cnnal, 280, 282. 

Lake Georye, 359, 405, 406. 

Lake Huron, 508. 

Lake Navigation. Dangers of, 343. 

Lake Nepissing, 508. 

Lake Ontario, 314, 345. Canal, 364. 

Lake St. Louis, 507. 

Lake St. Sacrament, 405, 406. 

Lake Superior, 508. 

La Loupe, France, 100. 

La Maison da Bois, 234, 235. 

Lamps. .In London, 222. In Paris, 222. 

In the avenues from Versailles to 

Paris, 101. 
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 40, 41. 
Landlord, wealthy, 175. 
Land Office. Commissioners of the, 381. 
Language. Dutch, in Albany, 307. 

Dutch, resembles the English, 226. 

Indian languages, 346. 
Languedoc, France, 112. Canal, 112. 
Lansdowne, Lord, 434. 
Lansing, President, 311. 
Lansingourg, New York, 317. Captain 

Hoogland at, 36. 
Lanterns: see Lamps. 
La Prairie, Canada East, 504. 
La Rocltelle, France, 96. 
" La Sensible." French frigate, 92. 
La Trappe, France. Mr. Watson's 

journey to, 134. Incident on the way, 

135. Monks of, 135, 136. 
Laurens, Henry, 160, 167, 199, 200. 

President of Congress, 89. Secret 

emissary to Holland, 89. Captured ; 

throws his dispatches overboard, 89. 

Mr. Watson's proposed tour in com- 
pany with, 160. Notice of, 160, 161. 
Laurens, John, Colonel, 127. Notice 

of, 161. Death of, 199. 
Lavater, the physiognomist, 384. 
La Vendee, France. Described, 97. 
"Lawrence." American ship, 487. 
Lead Mines, at Matlock, 195. 
Lebanon Springs, New York, 331. 
Lee Charles, General. Eeviews mili- 
tary companies at Providence, 22. 

His letter to the Duke of , 22. 

At Newport, 30. At Providence, in 

1775, 30. 
Lee, Henry, Colonel. Exploit of his 

corps, on the Haw River, 290. 
Lee, Richard Henry, 435. 
Leeds, England, 192. Canal, 189. 
Leeshurg, Virginia, 41. 
Lehigh River. Mr. Watson fords the, 

37. Rope ferry at, 38. 
Lens, France. Bridge and canal at, 146. 
Lestoff, England, 265. 



Letters. From 

Adams, John, 1780, April 30, 121. 
1790, Dec. 16, 182, 236. 1797, March 
17, 398. 1812, July 6, 433. 1812, 
July, 183. 1812, Aug. 10, 434'. 
1812, Aug. 11, 436. 1812, Sept. 16, 
439. 18l2, Dec. 17, 501. 1817, 
Nov. 7.499. 1817. Nov., 183. 1819, 
April 14, 238. 1822, Feb. 28, 379. 
1822, March 20, 380. 1822, Dec. 10, 
500. 1822, Dec. 23, 378. 1822, 
Dec. 31, 380. 

Adams. John Quincy, 1827, March 
16, 505. 

Coleman, H., 1841, Sept. 21, 525. 

Ellsworth, H. L., 1818, March 26, 464. 

Fulton, Robert, 1813, Aug. 14, 443. 

Genet, E. C, 1807, May 1, 418. 

Gerry, E., 1811, Feb. 4, 422. 

Honeywood, S. J., 1794, July 23,399. 

Hull, General, 1807, Nov. 30, 441. 
1812, May 31, 441. 1814, Jan. 13, 
442. 

Huinphrevs, General, 1809, Sept. 18, 
395. 1812, Oct. 6, 431. 

Jefferson, Thomas, 1817, May 8, 468. 

Jenkins, Elisha, 1807, Aug. 12, 416. 

Lammartin, M., 1782, Dec. 20, 210. 

Livingston, R, R., 1793, Feb. 16, 39. 
1803, June 25, 392. 1808, June 12, 
395. 1808, Nov. 13, 432. 1810, 
June 29, 430. 

Madison, James, 1817, March 18, 469. 

McCay, W. W., 1829, Sept. 17, 510. 

McClnre, George, 1822, June 15, 510. 

Mitchill, Dr., 1819, April 28, 470. 

Morris, Robert, 1792, June 11, 367. 

Mynderse, W., 1818, June 17, 477. 

Nott, Rev. Dr., 1807, 414. 416. 

Peters, Richard, 1819, 21, 458. 1824, 
April 18, 459. 

Rockwell, Julius, 1837, Oct. 5, 522. 

Schuyler, General, 1792, March 4, 364. 
1792, May 20, 366. 

Shelburne, Lord, 1782, Dec. 9, 207. 

Talbot, Silas, 1781, Ausf. 9, 158. 

Tillotson, Thomas, 1807, May 28, 417. 

Troup, Robert, 1829, Jan. 22, 372. 

Trumbull, John, 1823, Jan., 152. 

Varnum, General, 1788, Dec. 18, 385. 

Vergennes, Count de, 1781, Nov. 19, 
155. 

Washington, General, 1782, Aug. 10, 
157. 

Watson, Elkanah, 1782, Jan. 23, 156. 

1782, 120. 1797, March, 5, 

397. 1797, April 1, 398. 1815, 
Nov. 10, 499. 1817, April 24, 467. 
1818, Jan. 2, 462. 1818, April 8, 



Index. 



543 



464. 1818, Nov. 2,498. 1822, Dec. 
4,499. 1825, Feb. 15, 501. 
Letters, to 

Adams, John, 397,398,498,499,501. 

Ellsworth, H. L., 464. 

Franklin, Dr., 155. 

Rosack, Dr., 372. 

Jefferson, Thomas, 467. 

Varnum, Mrs., 385. 

Washington, General, 156. 

Watson, Elkanah, 121, 152, 182, 183, 
207, 210, 236, 238, 364, 366, 367, 
378, 379, 380, 391, 392/ 395, 398, 
399, 414, 416, 417, 418, 422, 430, 
431, 432, 433, 434, 436, 439, 441, 
442, 443, 458, 459, 464, 468, 469, 
470, 477, 499, 500, 501, 503, 510, 
522, 525. 

Watson, The sister of Mr., 120. 

Williamson, Hugh, 449. 
Lewis, Betty, 131. 
Lewis, Zachary, 131. 
Lexington, Massachusetts. The British 

march upon, 22. Americans march 

toward, 23. Battle of, 205. Revolu- 

tionary associations of, 81. 
Leyden, Netherlands, 256, 257. De- 
scribed, 240, 241. Canals. 240, 242. 

Castle de Bure, 242, 243. Gates, 242. 

Churches, 24i, 242. Gazette, 241. 

Stadhuis, 241, 242. University, 243. 
Liberty, in Holland, 262. 
Liberty Companies, 22. 
Liberty Pole, at Plymouth, 24. 
Light-house, Eddystone, 216, 217. 
Lightning-rods, 379. 

Lindsay, Thomas, Captain. In the af- 
fair of the schooner Gaspee, 27. At 

Providence, 28. 
Lines. Of the Eevolutionary army, 76. 
Lisle, Count de, 145, 146, 147. 
Litchfield,, England. Described, 184. 
Little Carpenter. Indian Chief, 350. 
L'dtle Falls, 281, 360. 
Littlepage, James, Colonel, 131. 
Littlepage, Louis, 131, 132. At Dr. 

Franklin's, 133. His controversy with 

John Jay, 132. 
Little River, 50. 
Littleton, Lord, 196. 
Liverpool, New York, 476. 
Liverpool, England, 185. Described, 

186-188. Canals, 180. Road to, 185. 

Mr. Watson surrounded by a band of 

armed men, near, 185. 
Livingston, Brockholst, 370. 
Livingston, Bobert E. His part in the 

Louisiana treaty, 390, 392. His ac- 
count of the Paris police, 105. His 



remarks on the merino sheep, 395, 
396 ; and on maple sugar, 391. His 
sheep-shearing festival^ in 1810, 394. 
His connection with Bobert Fulton, 
in steam navigation, 3y6. An inti- 
mate friend of Mr. Watson's, 390. 
Character of, 397. See Letters. 

Loclcwood's Folly, 50, 69. 

Loire River, 104, 113, 158. Bridges, 99. 
Divides Poitou from Brittany, 124. 

London. Commerce, 222. Lamps, 222. 
Stock Exchange, 266. Water, 222. 
Distant view of, 167. Contrasted with 
Paris, 221. 

Long Island, 271. The Hessians on, in 
1777, 384. Captain Hoogland, cap- 
tured at the battle of, 36. Cholera on, 
520. 

Long Island Sound, 274. 

Long Wharf, Boston, 81. 

Louis, XIV. Bevokes the edict of 
Nantes, 97. Founds the University 
of Douay, 153. Builds the Louvre, 
106- His bon-mot respecting Ghent, 
150. His palaces, at St. Germain, 
109; and Marly, 108. Statue of, at 
Paris, 102. 

Louis XV. Statue of, at St. Martin, 96. 

Louis XVI. , 350. Besieges Utrecht, 
256. At the Boyal Chapel, 102. At 
a deer hunt, 213. His personal ap- 
pearance, 103. 

Louisiana, Treaty of, 390-392. 

Louvre, The. Described, 106. 

Lower Falls, 281. 

Lunatic, at Nutbush, 289. 

Lundy^s Lane, 482. 

LurrRELL, Captain, 206. 

Luxembourg, The, 108. 

Luzac, M., 241, 500. Death of, 500. 

Lyndkurst, Lord, 203. 

Lynnhaven Bay, 443. 

Lys River, 150, 258. 

Lysander, New York, 350. 

MacDonough, Commodore, 410. 

Maas River, 224, 258. 

Madison, James. Refuses to sign the 
Bank Bill, in 1815, 447. His corres- 
pondence with Mr. Watson : see Let- 
ters. President of the General Board 
of Agriculture, 468. 

Madrid Palace of Francis I., 109. 

Madrid, Spain. Louis Littlepage at, 
132. 

Maese River, 224, 258. 

Magic Egg. Story of a, 31. 

Maid of Orleans : see OrUans. 

Maidenhead, England, 176, 200. 



544 



Index. 



Mail-wagon. The first, to Albany, 361. 

Maison du Bois. At the Hague, 234, 
235. 

Major D., story of, 320. 

Malborn, Colonel, 322. 

Malt liquor. Use of, in England, 176. 

Manchester, Duke of. 168. 

Manchester, England. Described, 189. 
Canals, 180, 189. 

Manheim, Baden, 146, 147. 

Manilius, the poet, quoted, 379. 

Manlius, village of, New York, 474. 

Manners and, Customs. Of America and 
other countries, 158-160. 

Manufactures. And agriculture, 420. 
Domestic, 425, 426, 463, 464. At 
Paris, 105. Foreign, 455. 

Maple sugar, 391. 

Marblehead, Massachusetts. Described, 
81. 

Margate, England. Described, 213. 
Bathing at, 214. 

Marie Antoinette. At the Eoyal 
Chapel, 102. Dr. Franklin's influ- 
ence with, 106. Her personal ap- 
pearance, 103. 

Marietta, Ohio. Founded by General 
Varnum. 385. Origin of the name, 
385. 

Marine salt. Use of, in agriculture, 275. 

Marion : see Blockley. 

Marlborough, Duke of, 177. 

Marlborough, England. Described, 200. 

Marly, France. Palace of Louis XIV. 
at, 108. 

Marriage. At St. Germain, 108. 

" Mars." Captain Sampson commands 
the vessel called, 91. 

Marshall, John, 435. 

Marshfield, Massachusetts. British 
troops at, 24, 25. 

Maryland. Visited by Mr. Watson, 41. 
Capitol of, 282. 

Mason, John, General. Of Georgetown, 
468. His delightful residence, 72. 

Masonic ornaments. Presented to Wash- 
ington, 156, 157. 

Mason's Island, 72. 

Massachusetts. Dispute of, with New 
York, respecting Indian lands, 314. 
Lands yielded by New York to, 478. 

Masters. The most cruel, 61. 

Matloch, England, 331. Described, 194. 
Bathing, 195. Petrifications, 195. 

Maurice, Prince of Orange, 235. 

Mawney, John. In the affair of the 
schooner Gaspee, 29. Dresses the 
wound of Lieutenant Duddingston, 
29. 



" May- Flower^ Governor Winslow, 
one of the Pilgrims who sailed in the, 
19. 

McClure, General. Letter from, 510. 

McHenry, Fort, at Baltimore, 73. 

McIntosh, Captain, 495. 

McIntosh, General. Mr. Watson's 
meeting and rejoicing with, 51. 

Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, 
294. 

Mediterranean Sea, 112. 

Meherrin River, 285. 

Meigs, Fort, 489. 

Melville, Thomas, 451. 

" Mercury." Packet ship, pursued by 
a British frigate, 93. Described, 89, 
90. Mr. Watson, a passenger in the, 
89, 92. Captured by a British frigate, 
89. 

Merino Sheep, 393, 395, 420, 421, 422, 
431, 432, 438. Sale of, in 1810, 394. 
Premium on, 451. 

Merrick, Joseph, 449, 450. 

Merrimack River, 81. 

Meuse River, 224, 258. 

Miami Indians, 320. Miami Indian 
wife of a white man, 322. 

Miami River, 441, 442. 

Michigan. Mr. Watson's tour to, in 
1818, 473. Progress of, 491-493, 495, 
496. 

Middle States of the United States, de- 
scribed, 83. 

Middlebury, Vermont, 412. 

Middletown, Pennsylvania, 361. 

Military parade, at the Hague, 233. 

Mill Prison, 158, 217, 308. 

Mills. Mr. Watson's negro servant, 
284, 285 ; at Charlotte, 294 ; at Nut- 
bush, 289 ; at Warrenton, 287. 

Mines, lead. At Matlock, England, 195. 

Minorca Island. Siege of, 131. 

Mirage. Effects of, 51. 

Mississippi River. To be opened by the 
Spanish government, 281. 

Mitchill, Samuel L., Dr., 417. At the 
sheep-shearing festival, in 1810, 394. 
His toast on the occasion, 394. Letter 
from, 470. 

Mohawk Indians, 311, 312. 

Mohawk River, 308, 347. Cohoes Falls 
on the, 317. German settlements on 
the, 336. Mr. Watson descends the, 
316. 

Mohawk Valley, 308, 309, 337. 

Mollem, Madame Van, 256. 

Monk. At Calais, 164. Monks at Ghent, 
151. 

Monroe, James, 393, 468. 



Index. 



545 



Mont Garnis, France, 112. 

Montgomery County Agricultural Society, 
458. 

Montpelier, Vermont. - Convention at, 
513. 

Montreal, Canada East, 504, 505, Ca- 
thedral, 504, 505. Cholera at, 520. 
Distance from Detroit to, 281. 

Monuments, to Boerhaave, 242 ; Braakel, 
229 ; a Bishop, at Utrecht, 255 ; Riche- 
lieu, 107 ; Shakspeare, 178 ; Mr. Wat- 
son, 527. 

Moore, Frank. His Ballads of the 
Revolution, 22. 

Moravians, The. Religious ceremonies 
of, 75. At Bethlehem, 38. At Sa- 
lem, 292, 293. 

Moreau, General, 124. 

Morris, Robert. His purchase of New 
York lands, 478, 479. Remarks of, 
on Inland Navigation, 367, 368. Trib- 
ute to, 368. Mr. Watson dines with, 
275, 276. His appearance and char- 
acter, 276. 

Morristown, New Jersey. Mr. Watson 
meets Captain Hoogland at, 36. Wash- 
ington retires from Princeton to, 36. 

Morse's Geography. Extract in, from 
Mr. Watson's Journal, 78. 

Mortagne, France, 135. 

" Mother Cary." Superstition among 
sailors, respecting, 270. 

Moultrie, Fort, 68. 

Mount Vernon, 72. Mr. Watson's visit 
to Washington at, in 1785, 139, 278. 

Moustier, Count de, 313. 

Moyes, Dr., the blind philosopher, 179, 
183, 184, 275. 

Muller, Mr. Of Pittsburg, 397. At 
the sheep-shearing festival, in 1810, 
394. His Jews-harp music, 397. 

Murfree, Major, 285, 286, 301. His 
plantation, 285. Anecdote of, and a 
Baptist preacher, 302. 

Murfreesborough, North Carolina, 285. 

Murfree^s Landing, 285. 

Musical Taste, in France, 120. 

Myers, Colonel, at Pittsfield, 494. 

Mynderse, Wilhelmus, Colonel, 476, 
477. Letter from, 477. 

Mystic, Massachusetts. Powder-house 
at, 26. 

Namcut Point, 27, 28. 

Nansemond River, 283. Described, 43. 

Nantes, France. Described, 99, 211, 212. 
Revocation of the Edict of, 97. Mr. 
Watson's mercantile house at, 114, 
115 ; anecdote of him and a priest at, 



128-130; a lady placed under his 
charge at, 132. Captain Sampson fre- 
quently in the harbor of, 91. The 
mayor of, visits the wax figure of Dr. 
Franklin, 142. Nuns of, make ma- 
sonic ornaments, 156. 

Narraganset Bay, 86, 271. Described, 
80. 

National Bank. Of France, 213. 

National Religion. Of England, 192. 

Navigation, Inland, 357, 358: see In- 
land Navigation. 

Navigation. Dangers of lake, 343. 
Subterranean, 190. 

Navy. American, 215 ; John Adams, 
father of the, 238; history of the, 
238 ; the first four ships of the, 238. 
JDuteh, 263. 

Neapolitan Cabbage-seed, 469. 

Neatness. Excessive, in North Holland, 
253. 

Negroes. Condition of, in the Southern 
States, 66. Cotton-picking by, in 
Georgia, 59. Their frugal meal on 
rice and water, 65. Runaway, at 
Dismal Swamp, 44 ; and at Winyaw 
Bay, 51, 52. Songs, 52. Rescue Mr. 
Watson from a pack of hounds, 45. 
Naked, in Virginia, 41. A negro 
hung in gibbets, for murdering his 
master, 42. Anecdote of a French 
officer and a negro, 57. A n egress, 
beaten by an. Irish ghole,. 60, 61. Sale 
of, at Wilmington, North Carolina, 69. 
Unite in the family devotions, at the 
Rev. Mr. Piercy's, 64. 

Nepissing Lake, 508. - 

Netherlands, The. Visited by Mr. Wat- 
son, 144. 

Neuse River, 47, 49, 289. Dangerous 
passage of the, 47. 

Netjville, John de, 307. 

Newark, New Jersey, 275. 

Newbern, North Carolina, 47, 48. Ex- 
ports of, 48. 

JSew City, New York, 317. 

New England. Condition of the farmers 
of, 308. Destiny of, 453. 

New Garden, North Carolina. Quaker 
settlement at, 293. 

New Hampshire. Mr. Watson visits, 
81, 82. Regiment of troops from, at 



Saratoga, 20. 
New Haven, Connecticut. 



Described, 



New Jersey, 76. Coast of, 271. Wash- 
ington's retreat through, 31. 
Newland's Ferry, 41 . 
New Lebanon Springs, 331. 



546 



Index. 



New Orleans. Battle of, 447. Wood- 
sawer at, 820. 

Newport, England, 215. 

Newport, Rhode Island, 86. Described, 
80. Occupied by British troops, 79. 
Siegre of, 88. General Lee at, 30. 
Mr! Watson at, 30, 322. The British 
in possession of the harbor of, 30. 

New River. Catawba Indian Chief, 
294, 350. Death of, 296. 

New River, England. Canal, conveying 
the, into London, 263, 264. 

Newtown, on the Susquehanna River, 
347. 

Newton, Pennsylvania, 361. 

New Yorlc City. Described, in 1784, 
274, 275. Passage to, in 1784, 273, 
274 ; and inl788,318. La Fayette at, 
38. The cholera at, 520. 

New York State. Dispute of, with Mas- 
sachusetts, respecting Indian lands, 
314. Agricultural Society, 458. 

Niagara Falls, 480-482. The Rapids, 
48L Canal, 369, 371. 

"Niagara," ship, 486. 

Night Travelling. In France, 114. In 
Virginia, 41 ; anecdote of Tom and the 
negro in gibbets, 42. 

Nightingale, Colonel. His cadet com- 
pany, 22 ; reviewed by General Lee, 
22. 

Nile River, 229. Chain across the, 247. 

Nixon, General, 412. 

Nobility, English. Ignorance and vul- 
garity of some of the, 201. 

Norfolk, Virginia, 283. 

North Carolina. Mr. Watson's journey 
to, in 1786, 283. Discussion of the 
Federal Constitution in, 301, 302. 
Election, 287. Hunting in, 288. 
Scotch-Irish in, 290. State of educa- 
tion in, 290. 

Northern. Canal Company, 366. Senti- 
nel, 381. States : preparations in the, 
xo end the war, 32 ; contrasted with 
Southern States, 74, 82, 83. 

North Hero Island, 409. 

North Holland. Excessive neatness in, 
253. 

North Sea. View of the, 234. 

Norton, Massachusetts, 304. 

Norwich, Connecticut. Looms at, 452. 

Nott, Rev. Dr. His sermon on the 
death of Hamilton, 413, 414. His 
narrow escape from death, 414. Let- 
ters from, 414, 416. 

Notre Dame, Church of. Described, 
106. 

Nova Scotia. Edward Winslow and his 



family, refugees in, 87. Mr. H., a 
vagabond in, 826. 

Nuns. At Nantes, make masonic orna- 
ments for General Washington, 156. 

Nutbush, North Carolina, 288, 289. 

Ocean. Effect of a view of the, 50. Mr. 
Watson's meeting and rejoicing with 
General Mcintosh on the shore of the, 
51. Sea-birds and porpoises, 50. 

Ocrakoke Bar, 303. 

Ogeechee River, 65, 82. 

Ohio. Supplies furnished by, for De- 
troit, 494. Progress of, 491, 492. 

Ohio River. General Varnum's colony 
on the north branch of the, 385. 

Old Sarum, England, 216. 

Oliver, Peter. Chief Justice, 179, 435, 
498, 499. His letters, 45. Anecdote 
of Mr. Watson and, at church, 182. 

Oliver, Dr., 498. 

Oneida Indian Chief. Educated in 
France, 315. 

Oneida County Agricultural Society, 458. 

Oneida Lake, 341, 342, 360. 

Oneida Reservation, 342. 

Onondaga. Chief, 350. Indians, 345. 

Onondaga Creek, 349. 

Onondaga Lake, 476. 

Onondaga River, 344. 

Ontario Lake, 859 : see Lake Ontario. 

Opera, The. In England, 201 , 202. 

Opossum. Mr. Watson's repast on an, 
50. 

Orange, Nassau, the arms of, 235. 

Orange Orchard, 53. 

Orchard. At Trenton, where the Hes- 
sians laid down their arms, 37. 

Orchards. Indian, 354. Orange, 53. 
Peach, 69. 

Organ. At Haarlem, 246. 

Oriskany, New York, 311. 

Orleans, Duke of. His palace at St. 
Cloud, 109. His forest, 111. 

Orleans, France. Described, 110, 112. 
Forest of, 111. Maid of, 112. Canal, 
104, 112. 

Orphan House. Whiteiield's, 64. 

Orvilliers, Count d', 117, 217. 

Ostend, Belgium, 147. Canals, 147. 

O'Sullivan, John L., 512, 514. 

Oswego Bass- fish, 341. 

Oswego, Fort, 314, 345. 

Otis, James, 435. Sad condition of, in 
1778, 88. 

Otsego County Agricultural Society, 426, 
427, 456. 

Otsequett, Peter. Oneida Chief, edu- 
cated in France, 315. 



Index. 



547 



Ottawa River, 506, 508. 

Otter Greek, 407. Valley of, 412. 

Ovrcq River, France, 392. 

Overseers. Northern, character of, 61. 
Gouging-match of two, 56, 57. 

Overslaugh, The, 318. 

Overyssel, Province of, 257. Its influ- 
ence. 261. 

Ovid, Township of, 355, 356. 

Oxen. Used instead of horses, in agri- 
culture, by Germans, 337. 

Oxford, England, 181. Described, 177. 

Oxfordshire, 176. 

Packet-boat, Dutch, 230. 

Packet Travelling, 318. 

Page, Benjamin. In the affair of the 
schooner Gaspee, 29. 

Paine, Tom. Arrival of, at Nantes, 127. 
His disgusting condition, 127, 128. 
His bath, 128. His political influence, 
127. 

Palace. Of Chantilly, 144, 145. Of 
James II., at St. Germain^ 109. The 
Madrid, 109. Ryswick, of the Prince 
of Orange, 235, 236. 

Palais Royal, Paris, 108. 

Palatine, New York, 836. 

Pamlico Sound, 303. Scenery of, 46. 

Parade, Military, at the Hague, 233. 

Paris, Described, 104-107 ; compared 
with Amsterdam, 248 ; and witli Lon- 
don, 221. Catacombs, 110. Lamps, 
222. Manufactures, 105, 222. Swiss 
Patrol, 105. Water, 222. Illumin- 
ated, on account of the capture of 
Cornwallis, 156. Commissioners at, 
in 1782, 208. Louis Littlepage at, 132. 

Parker, Sir Peter. At Charleston, 
South Carolina, in 1776, 68. 

Parsons, Chief Justice, 435. 

Passaic River, 275. 

Passy, France. Dr. Franklin resides at, 
102. 

Patapsco River, 73. 

Patriot, American. Anecdote of an, at 
Danbury, 35. 

Patrol, Horse, in France, 100. Swiss, 
in Paris, 105. 

Pattern Farm, 466, 471-473. 

Paulas Hook, New Jersey, 275. 

" Paving Yankee," 328. 

Peace. Of 1697, 235. Between England 
and America, 208. 

Peach Orchards, in North Carolina, 69. 

Peasantry, English, 176. French, 101, 
111, 119, 120^. 

Pease. In blossom, in Georgia, in Jan- 
uary, 1777, 53. 



PeeksHU, New York. Infested by Tories 

and outlaws, 35. 
Penn, William. Founds Philadelphia, 
276. Founds Eeading, 39. His 
ground-rents, 39. 
Pennsylvania. Described, 73. The 
farms of, contrasted with southern 
plantations, 74. 
Penyan, New York, 51 0. 
Perjury. Exemplary punishment of, 
. 199, 200. 
Peronne, France, 146. 
Perry. Commodore, 485-487. 
Peru, Township of, New York, 408. 
Peter the Great, 253. 
Peters, Eichard, Judge, 396. Letters 

from, 458-461. 
Petrifactions. At Matlock, 195. 
Pharoux, M. At Albany, 388. 
Philadelphia. Founded by William 
Penn, 276. Described, 276. Carpen- 
ters' Hall in, 276. State House, 276. 
Growth of, 276. Howe approaches, 
33. Occupied by the British, in 1777, 
37. Distance from Detroit to, 281. 
Journey to, 275, 276. Mr. Watson's 
departure from, in 1785, 277 ; visits, 
in 1792, 328. The grave of Franklin 
at, 329. 
Philip II., of Spain, 223, 255. 
Phylactery. Speculations respecting a, 

448^50. 
Pick-pocket. Punishment of a, 267. 

Pick-pockets in England, 221. 
Picton, General, 447. 
Piercy, Lord. At Lexington, Massa- 
chusetts, 85. 
Piercy, Eev. Mr., 64, 65. 
Pigs. Improved breed of, 421. 
Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth, 399. 
Pine Woods. Of Massachusetts, con- 
trasted with those of North Carolina, 
80. Of North Carolina, 44. On fire, 
66. 
Pioneers. At Cayuga Lake, 352. 
Pipe. A Dutch Jew's use of his, to im- 
itate the crying of a child, 254. 
Piquet, La Motte, Admiral, 125. 
Pistol, Travelling. Mr. Watson's, 414. 
Pitt, Mr., Chancellor of the Exchequer, 

206. 
Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Parson Allen, 
minister at, 32. Phvlactery found at, 
448-450. General Eiall at, 483. Mr. 
Watson's removal to, in 1807, 419. 
Plagiarism from Mr. Watson's Journal, 

78. 
Plain, Salisbury, 216. 
" Plantagenet," ship, 448. 



548 



Index. 



Planters, Southern. Their style of liv- 
ing, 53, 65, 67, 68. 

Plattsburg, New York, 408. Cholera at, 
520. 

Plough. Clumsy French, at Detroit, 
493. Two furrow, 462. 

Plymouth, England, 158. 

Plymouth, Massachusetts. Removal of 
the Forefathers' Rock at, 23. Captain 
Balfour's plan of occupying, 24. Ed- 
ward Winslow, collector of the port 
of, 24. The inhabitants of, cut to 
pieces the sword of one of Captain 
Balfour's officers, 25. Public meeting 
at, to approve of the destruction of 
the tea at Boston, 85. Mr. Watson 
rouses the Committee of Safety at, 
29. Two schooners fitted out at, to 
rescue Mr. Brown, 29. Major Thomas 
at, 31. Magic Egg at, 31. Liberal 
contributions at, to relieve the suffer- 
ings of the American army, 91, 92. 
British fieetat, 117. The packet "Mer- 
cury" built at, 89. 

Plymouth, North Carolina, 70. 

Pocahontas. At Jamestown, 43. 

Point. Ebino, 492. Judith, 271. 

Poitou, France, 124. 

Police, French, 105. 

Political. Contest of 1807, 416 ; and of 
1812, 448. Baptist preacher, 302. 
Sentiments of the English, in relation 
to the American Revolution, 193. 

Polk, General, 294, 297. 

Pond Pond, 57. 

Pont Movant, France, 111. 

Pont Neuf, Paris, 102. 

Pope, Alexander, the poet, 207. 

Population. Progress of, in the United 
States, 522-524. 

Porcelain Manufacture. At Delft, 232. 
At Derby, 196. In France, 232. 

Port au Prince, Hayti, 283. 

Port Kent, New York. Described, 509. 
Mr. Watson's removal to, 508, 511. 

Porter, General, 480. 

Portrait, of La Fayette, 282. Roeham- 
beau, 282. Washington, 282. Mr. 
Watson, by Copley, 202, 203. 

Port Royal Island, 58. Described, 58. 
Dancing-scene at the Ferry-house, 58. 

Portsea, England. Naval Arsenal at, 214. 

Portsmouth, England, 214. 

Portugal House, Birmingham, 176. 

Postillions. French, 97, 98, 101. 

Post Royal, in France, 101. 

Potomac Canal Company, 280. 

Potomac River, 72, 278. Newland's 
Ferry, 41. Navigation of the, 280. 



Indian Chief, father of 



Poultney, Sir William, 479. 

Powder. Want of, in the Revolutionary 
army, 25. Anecdote respecting bar- 
rels of sand, 26. 

POWHATTAN. 

Pocahontas, 43. 

Preacher, Baptist. Political, 301, 302. 
Caricature of a, 302, 303. 

Preston, Captain, 435. 

Price, Rev. Dr., 163, 171, 172. His 
writings in behalf of America, 172. 
His views of the French Revolution, 
172. 

Priest, profane, 97. 

Priestley, Rev. Dr., 163, 179, 180, 195, 
196. His letter to Dr. Franklin, 181. 

Prince Edward's Bay, 492. 

Prince of Wales : see George IV. 

Prince of Wales' ] s Regiment, 296. 

Princeton, New Jersey, 275. Washing- 
ton's exploits at, 36. College, 288 ; 
occupied by the British, 37. Battle- 
ground at, 37. 

Printing. With types, invented by 
Koster, 246. 

Procession. Roman Catholic at Nantes, 
129. 

Providence, Rhode Island. Described, 
80. Mr. Watson, apprentice to John 
Brown at, 20. Military associations 
formed at, 21. Destruction of the 
schooner Gaspee at, in 1772, 27. Com- 
merce of, prostrated, 33, 79. General 
Varnum at, in 1777, 384. Mr. Wat- 
son sets out from, for South Carolina, 
in 1777, 34; his seventy days' jour- 
ney, 52 ; his return, in 1778, 77. His 
arrival at, in 1784, 273 ; and in 1788, 
303 ; and his departure from, in 1788, 
305 ; he sees La Fayette at, 37. Gen- 
eral Sullivan in command at, in 17S8, 
88. 

Provinces, The Seven, 257. 

Provincial Army. Prowess of the, 84. 

Prudence Island, 84, 86, 322. 

Public Improvements. Mr. Watson pro- 
motes, 509. 

Pugilism. In England, 221. 

Pump Punishment. At Amsterdam, 
251. 

Purgatory, or Devil's Hole, Rhode Is- 
land, 323. 

Puritans. The Church in which they 
worshipped at Ley den, 241. Embark- 
ation of, for America, 225. 

Purmerend, Netherlands, 261. 

Quakers. Settlement of, at New Garden, 
North Carolina, 293. Near Plymouth, 



Index. 



549 



Massachusetts, 319. General Greene, 
a Quaker, 384. 

Quaker Hill. Battle of, 89. 

Quebec, Canada. Cholera at, 520. 

Queen Elizabeth. Her "pocket pistol," 
166. 

" Queen Charlotte," ship, 486, 487. 

Queen's Guards. At Marshfield, Massa- 
chusetts, 24. 

11 Quids," The, 417. 

Quincy, Josiah, 437. 

Quit-rents; see Ground-rents. 

Rambouillet Sheep, 393. 

Eaphael. Works of art by, at the 
Hague, 240. 

Rappahannock River. Colonel Hunter's 
factory on the, 42. Falls of the, 42. 

Rasp-Houses, Dutch, 251. 

Reading, England, 200. 

Reading, Pennsylvania, Described, 39. 
Mr. Watson visits, 37, 39. 

Reamstown, Pennsylvania. German cus- 
tom at, of sleeping between two beds, 
39. 

Reflecting -glasses, 224. 

Rennes, France,. 123. Dissipation at, 
124. Governor of, 126. 

Rensselaer Gaunt?/ Agricultural Society, 
458. 

Reservation, Oneida, 342. 

Revolution, American. Premonitions of 
the, 21. Importance of the, 117. Spirit 
of the, 273. Sacrifices and sufferings 
of patriots of the, 36, 91. Sufferings 
of the inhabitants of German Flats, 
during the, 309. Interest in the, in 
France, 113. Sentiments in England, 
in relation to the, 193. History of the, 
in French, 210. 

Revolution, French, 119. Dr. Price's 
views of the, 172. 

Revolution, Dutch, 22S. 

Eeynell, Mrs., 87. 

Reynolds, Mr., escape of, 165, 166. 

Rhe : see He de Rhe. 

Rhine River, 258. 

Rhode Island. Described, 79. Its pro- 
ducts, 79. Occupied by the British, 
32. Mr. Watson's return to, in 1788, 
303. 

Ehodes, Joseph, 29. 

Riall, General, 481, 482. A prisoner at 
Pittsfield, Massachusetts, 483. 

Rice. Account of the culture of, 62, 63. 

Rich, O., Mr. American consul at Va- 
lencia, 470. 

Richelieu, Cardinal, 97. Monument to, 
at the Sarbonne, 107. 



Manufacture of, at Lancaster, 



Richmond, England, 173. 
Richmond, Virginia. Canal, 43. Dis- 
tance from Detroit, 281. 

if 

40. 
Riquet, M. His canal at Languedoc, 

112. 
Roads. Dutch, 258. 
Roanoke River, 70, 286, 299. 
Robberies. Common in England, 171. 

Uncommon in France, 100. 
Robbery. Indian, 349. Of Mr. Watson, 

by Mr. H., 323-325. 
Robbins, Parson. Announces from his 

pulpit, on Sunday, the news of the 

capture of the Hessians, at Trenton, 

32. Character of, 32. 
Rochambeau, Count de, 154- Portrait 

of, at Annapolis, 282. 
Rochdale, England. The church at, 

190. 
Rochelle, La, France. Described, 97. 

See La Rochelle. 
Rochester, England, 167. 
Rockwell, Julius, 521, 522. 
" Roderic Random,''' 1 474. 
Rodney, Admiral, 181. 
Rogers' ] s Slide, 406. 
Roman Catholic Procession, at Nantes, 

129. Anecdote of Mr. Watson and a 

priest at Nantes, 128-130. 
Roman Towers. Between Dreux and 

Paris, 101. At Nantes, 212. AtSen- 

lis, 153. Ajfc Southampton, 215. 
Romance in real life, 319, ss. 
Roman Work at Tours, 114. 
Romulus, Town of, New York, 355. 
Rope Ferry. Described, 38. At the 

Trent River, 48. 
Rotten Boroughs, 200, 216. 
Rotterdam, Holland, 224-226. Market- 
place at, 227. Promenade at, 225. 
Rousseau, M., 219. Tomb of, 153. 
Royal Exchange, London, 175. 
Royal. Family, Indian, 350. Observa- 
tory, at Greenwich, 171. Personages, 

seen by Mr. Watson, 350. 
" Royal George," ship, 170, 214. 
Rubens. Works of art by, at the Hague, 

240. His painting of Vulcan in his 

shop, 235. 
Rugoles, Timothy, 438. 
Rum, Jamaica. Story of John and the 

cargo of, 320. 
Russell. Mr., Consignee of Mr. Brown, 

54. 
Russell, Thomas, 387. 
Russia, Empress of, 253. 
Russian Wheat, 437. 



550 



Index. 



Rutland, Vermont, 413. 

Rutledge, Governor. Anecdote of, and 
Mr. Watson, 55. Copy of the pass- 
port given by him to Mr. Watson, 68. 

Ryswick, Holland, 235. 

Sabbath-day Point, 405. 

Sabine, James. Meeting at the house 
of, respecting the plan to destroy the 
schooner Gaspee, 28. 

"Sago," Indian salute of friendship, 
312. 

Sailors. At an election in London, 218. 
Superstition of, respecting egg-shells, 
269, 270. A British sailor springs in- 
to the sea, and secures Mr. Laurens's 
dispatches, 90. 

St. Cloud, France. Described, 109. Dr. 
Franklin's popularity at the Court of, 
106. 

St. Denis, France, 163. 

St. George's Bank. Account of, 92. 

St. Germain, France. Marriage at, 108. 

St. James's Park, London, 174. 

St. John's, Lower Canada, 503, 504. 

St. Lawrence's Church, Rotterdam, 227, 
229. 

St. Lawrence River, 347. Rapids, 507. 
Canal from Lake Champlain to, 512. 

St. Leger, General, 312, 313. 

St. Martin, France, 94, 96, 97. 

St. Mary's River, 508. 

St. Paul's Cathedral, London, 167. 

St. Petersburg, Russia. Louis Littlepage 
at, 132. 

St. Sacrament, Lake, 405, 406. 

Salem*, Massachusetts. Described, 81. 
Acts of hostility near, 22. 

Salem, North Carolina, 292-294. Mora- 
vian settlement at, 292. 

Salina, New York, 476. 

Salisbury, England, 216. Cathedral, 216. 
Plain, 216. 

Salisbury, North Carolina, 294. 

Salmon fish, 341, 344. 

Salt Lake. Described, 346-348. 

Salt. Deposits, 351. Makers, Indian, 
349. Manufacture, 351, 476. Marine, 
use of, in agriculture, 275. Works, 
at Brutus, 351 ; at Salt Lake, 346. 

Sampson, Simeon, Captain, 90, 96, 122. 
Captain of the packet " Mercury," 89. 
Captured by Captain Dawson, 90. 
Captain of the "Mars," 90, 91. 

Sancho, Ignatius, 267, 268. Mr. Wat- 
son visits the family of, 268. 

Sand-bar, in Lake Champlain, 408. 

Sand-barrels, in the powder-house at 
Mystic, Massachusetts, 26. 



Sand manure, in agriculture, 459. 

Sand-Plains. Culture of, 404. 

Sandusky, Ohio, 492. 

Sandwich, England, 495. 

Sandy Hill, Village of, 405. 

Sandy Hook, New Jersey. The French 
fleet off, in 1778, 87. 

Santee Island, 52. 

Santee River, 297. 

Saranac River, 408. 

Saratoga Springs, New York, in 1805, 
404. Want of accommodations at, in 
1790, 334 ; bathing at, 334, 335 ; Con- 
gress Spring, 335. Colonel Scammel 
at the battle of, 20. 

Sarbonne, The, Paris, 107. 

Sardam, Holland. Described, 252. Ca- 
nals, 253. Peter the Great at, 253. 
Shipbuilding, 252. Saw-mill, 252. 
Windmills, 252. 

Sarum, Old, England, 216. 

Savage. A white, at Chatham, 298, 299. 

Savannah, Georgia. Described, 62. 

Savannah River, 60. 

Saw-mill. As Sardam, 252. 

Sayer, Mr. Account of, 165. 

Scammel, Alexander, Colonel. His 
school, 20. Military discipline of his 
pupils, 20. His appearance, character, 
and history, 20. At the battle of Sara- 
toga, 20. 

Scawayas, New York, 353. 

Schenectady, New York, 336, 360. Acad- 
emy, 307. College, 308, 413. Mail- 
wagon, 362. 

Scheldt River, 150. Proposed opening 
of the, 258. Described, 258. 

Schevingen, Netherlands, 234. Describ- 
ed, 233. 

ScJtoharie County Agricultural Society, 
458. 

Schuyleb, Philip, General. His in- 
terest in Inland Navigation, 363-367, 
380. His letters on the subject, 364- 
367. His interest in the State Bank 
at Albany, 390. Political enemy of 
Mr. Adams, 399, 400. The friend of 
Mr. Watson, 381. The enemy of Mr. 
Watson, 382. His unpopularity, 383. 
Tribute to, 382. 

Schuyler, Fort, 338. 

Schuyler's Mills, 336. Bridge near, 338. 

Schuylkill Canal, 460. 

Schuylkill River, 73. Floating Bridge, 
277. 

Scipio, Township of, New York, 355. 

Scotch-Irish, The, in North Carolina, 
290. 

Scotch merchants, at La Chine, 505. 



Index. 



551 



Scott, Mr. Anecdote of, and a man in 
gibbets, 41, 42. 

Sea-island cotton,, 68. 

Sea-sand manure, 459. 

Seine River , 102, 109. Navigable to 
Havre-de-Grace, 104. 

Senate, The Dutch, 262. 

Seneca Falls, 281, 353. Canal, 282. Tran- 
sit of the first canal-boat at, 476. 

Seneca grass, aromatic, 351. 

Seneca Indians. General Sullivan chas- 
tises the, 354, 355. 

Seneca Lake, 347, 352, 353. Described, 
356. Canal, 364. 

Seneca River, 344, 346, 347, 350, 351. 

Senlis, France. Cathedral and Roman 
Tower at, 153. 

Servants. English, French, and Amer- 
ican, 169. ; 

Seven Provinces. Names of the, 257. 
Proportion of land and water in the, 
257. See Holland. 

Severn River, 179, 196, 197, 282. 

Seward, William H., Governor, 524. 

Seward, Miss. Major Andre's intro- 
duction to, 196. 

Shakers, The. At New Lebanon, 331, 
332. Dancing, 333. Worship, 332. 
Character of, 333. 

Shakspeare. His birth-place, 177, 178. 
His chair, 178. His grave and monu- 
ment, 178. 

Sharp, Granville. Sends books to Gen- 
eral Washington, 267, 278. 

Sharp, Surgeon, 267. 

Sheaf River, 194. 

Sheep. In Friesland, 260. Merino, 393 ; 
see Merimo. Eambouillet, 393. Sheep- 
shearing festival, in 1810, 394. 

Sheffield, England. Described, 193, 194. 

Shelburne, Lord, 434. Dispatches for, 
167. Mr. Vaughan's communication 
to, 163. Note from, to Mr. Watson, 
207. 

Shenandoah River Canal, 282. 

Sheridan, Mr. Of the House of Com- 
mons, 201, 206. 

S7rip-building. At Sardam, 252. 

Ships. The first four in the United 
States navy, 238. 

Shops. In Paris, 221. 

Shooter's Bill, England, 171. 

Siberian Wheat, 437. 

Siege. Of Boston, in 1775, 25. Of Haar- 
lem, 247. 

Sierra Leone, Africa, 267. 

Silk. Culture, 61, 62. Manufacture at 
Derby, 196 ; at Utrecht, 256. 



Six Nations, The. Treaty of the United 
States with, in 1788, 314. 

Skeneateles Lake, 351. 

Skinner, Mr. His correspondence with 
Mr. Watson, 469. 

Slavery. Its influence upon Southern 
habits, 72. Northern cupidity aided 
the introduction of, GQ. 

Slaves : see Negroes. 

Sleeping. German custom of, 39. Dun- 
kers' mode of, 40. 

Small-pox. Custom of sweating out the, 
76. Mr. Watson inoculated, 30, 77. 

Smeadley, Captain, 158. 

Smith, Daniel, Jr., of Norton, Massa- 
chusetts, 304. 

Smith, Kachel. Mr. Watson's marriage 
to, in 1784, 304. 

Smith, Toupin. In the affair of the 
schooner Gaspee, 29. 

Smith, Captain, Commander of the 
ship " George Washington," 268. 
Anecdote of, respecting egg-shells, 
269. 

Smollet. His " Koderic Eandom," 474. 

Smuggling. In France, 124. 

Soho, England. Works at, 180. 

Song, Bevolutionary, 21, 22. 

Southampton, England, 215. 

South Carolina. Mr. Watson's journey 
to, 34. 

Southern States, The. Contrasted with 
the Northern, 74, 82, 83. 

South Hero Island, 408. 

Spain. Merino sheep from, 395. To 
open the Mississippi Eiver, 281. Tyr- 
anny of, in Holland, 223. Wheat 
from, 470. 

Spaniards. At the siege of Haarlem, 247. 

Spanish. Armada, 203. Wheat, 470. 

Spearing Salmon, 344. 

SpeeUhouses. At Amsterdam, 250, 251. 

Spithead, England, 214. 

Spouts. Over canals, in Holland, 327. 
On houses, in Albany, 327. 

Springfield, Massachusetts, 306. 

Spy. The author arrested as a, 37, 44. 

Stadhouder, The. Has no vote in the 
National Assembly, 261. Powers and 
duties of, 262. His palace at the 
Hague, 239, 

Stadhuis, The. At Amsterdam, 248, 
249. At Ley den, 241. 

Stadtholder, The, 350. 

Stage-sleigh travelling, 282. 

Stanislaus Augustus, 131. 

Stanwix, Fort, 308, 312, 338, 339. Ac- 
count of, 313. 



552 



Index. 



State-street, Albany, 328. 

State Bank, Albany, 328, 389. 

State House. At Annapolis, 282. At 
Philadelphia, 276. 

State-prison system, 389. 

States General, 261. 

States. Northern, Southern, and Middle, 
of the United States, described, 74, 
82, 83. 

Statue. Of Lord Botetourt, 43. Of Eras- 
mus, at Eotterdam, 227. Of Koster, 
246. Of Louis XIV., 102. Of William 
L, Prince of Orange, 232. 

Steeples. Trumpeters in, at Amsterdam, 
249. 

Sterling, Colonel, 310. 

Sterne. His description of M. Des- 
sein, 164. 

Steuben, Baron. Lands granted to, 316. 

Stillwater, New York. Battle of, 482. 

Stock Exchange, London, 266. 

Stones, landscape. At Matlock, 195. 

Stony Point, 488. 

Storks' Nests, 223. 

Storm. The French and British fleets, 
in 1779, disabled and scattered by a, 
89. Storm at sea, 270. 

Stratford-upon-Avon, 177. 

Subterranean Navigation, 190. 

Suffolk, Virginia, 283. Described, 43. 
Mr. Watson arrested at, as a spy, 44. 

Sugar. How used at tabic, by the Dutch 
and Germans in New Jersey, 36. 

Sulky carriage. Described, 52. Used 
by Mr. Watson, in his southern jour- 
ney, 37. Sulky travelling, 285. 

Sullivan, General. In command at 
Providence, 85, 88. Character of, 88. 
Remonstrates with Count d'Estaing, 
89. At Seneca Lake, 353. At Apple- 
town, 354, 355. 

Sullivan, Judge, 273. 

Sullivan's Island, 68. 

Sumter, General. His exploit at Hang- 
ing Rock, 296. 

Sunday, in France, 110. 

Superstition of sailors, respecting egg- 
shells, 269, 270. 

Susquehanna River, 73. Canal, 361, 460. 

Swans, in Holland, 223. 

Swapping. Horses, 71. Watches, 71. 

Sword, The. Of one of Captain Bal- 
four's officers, cut into pieces, by the 
inhabitants of Plymouth, 25. 

Syracuse, New York, 

Table customs. Of the Dutch and Ger- 
mans in New Jersey, 36. 
Table Rock, Niagara Falls, 482. 



Tailor, French, 105. 

Talbot, Silas, Colonel, 158, 3C8. Bears 
tidings of Washington's defeat at 
Brandywirie, 35. 

Talleyrand, M. In America, 387, 388. 
In France, 388. 

Tallien, M. Atrocities of, 387. 

Tapestry, Gobelin, 108. 

Tar River, 79, 289. 

Tarborough, North Carolina, 70. 

Tar-burnirig, account of, 47. 

Tariff Policy, 452. 

Tarleton, General. Anecdote of, and 
Mrs. Ashe, 286. 

Tatham's " Inland Navigation," 78. 

Taunton, Massachusetts, 384. Iron man- 
ufacture at, 452. 

Taxes. In America, 272. Lecture on, 
272, 273. 

Taylor, John. Of Albany, 313. 

Taylor, Dr. His white wig, 313. 

Tea. Culture of, 62. Introduction of, 
into Europe, 62. Amount of import 
of, in Great Britain, 62. Destroyed 
at Boston, in 1773, 21. Destruction 
of, at Boston, approved of by the in- 
habitants of Plymouth, Massachusetts, 
85. 

Tea-drinking, 265. In America, 265. In 
England, 265. In France, 265. In 
Holland, 265. Diseases cured by, 266. 

Teeth. Injured by the use of hot tea, 
266. 

Temperance. In France, 516. Dr. Beech- 
er's publications on, 517. Mr. Wat- 
son's temperance, 517, 518. Intem- 
perance asylums, 518. Temperance 
Report, 515. 

Tempest. At Blackstone-edge, 191. 

Temple, Sir John. His duel with Mr. 
Whately, 45. 

Ten Brook, Mr., 391. 

Tennessee River, 292. 

Tewkesbury, England, 179, 197. 

Texel River, 248. 

Thames River, 167, 171, 176, 207. 

Theatre. The French, 107, 108. Effects 
of a play at the London, upon Brind- 
ley, 188. 

Thomas, Major. At Plymouth, 31. 
His account of Washington's retreat 
through New Jersey, 31. 

Thomas, William, editor, 500. 

Three River Point, 344. 

Thunder-storm, at Amsterdam, 254. 

Ticonderoga, New York, 406. 

Tillotson, Thomas. Letter from, 417, 
418. 

Tiverton, Rhode Island, 88. 



Index. 



553 



Tobacco- smohing. In Holland. 230. 

Tomb. Of Baron de Kalb, 297. Of 
William I., Prince of Orange, 231. 
232. 

Tonaivanda Creek, 478. 

Torch-light. Deer-h anting by, 49. 

Tories. At Fairfield, 35. At PeekskiU, 
35. 

Tour. Of Mr. Watson, to the Southern 
States, 77; his "Tour in Holland," 
286, 331. American Tourists, 507. 

Tours, France. Described, 114. 

Towers, Eoman, 101, 153 ; see Roman 
Towers. Trumpeters in, at Amster- 
dam, 249. 

Townsend, Mr. His plantation, 53. 

Townshend, Mr., Member of Parlia- 
ment, 206. 

Trappe, La: see La Trappe. 

Travelling. Cheap, in Holland, 257. 
Bateau, 316, 336, 338, 340, 341. Canoe, 
283. Causeway, 479. Coal-cart, 284. 
English, 175. Horse-cart, 266. Night, 
in France, 114. Packet, 318. Safety 
of, in France, 100. Stage-sleigh, 282. 
Sulky, 285. 

Travelling-pistol. Mr. Watson's, 414. 

Tree, stung and killed by a horned- 
snake, 71. 

Trekschuit, The. In Holland, 230. 

Trent River. Eope Ferry at the, 48. 

Trenton, New Jersey. Washington's 
exploits at, 36, 37. Capture of Hes- 
sians at, 32. The orchard at, where 
the Hessians laid down their arms, 37. 

Troup, Eobert, Colonel. On Inland 
Navigation, 370-378. Letters from, 
372 ss, 374 ss. 

Trout fish, 341. 

Troy, New York. Site of, 316. Original 
name of: see Vanderheyden. 

Trumbull, JonN, LL.D., 283. His ac- 
count of Silas Deane, 152. 

Trumbull, John, Colonel. His picture 
of the Declaration of Independence, 
102. 

Trumpeters. In steeples and towers, at 
Amsterdam, 249. 

Truxton, Commodore, 389. 

Tuileries, The, Paris, 102, 107, 392. 

Turkey: see Wild Turkey. 

Turnpike-road, 389. 

Turpentine-making, 47. 

Twelve Mile Point, 343. 

Two Furrow Plough, 462. 

Union College, New York, 413. 
United States. Speech of George III., 
on the Independence of the, 204. 

24 



Government of the, 262. Population 
of, 522. 

University. Of Leyden, 243. Of Utrecht, 
256. 

Usurer, rich. Account of a, 319. 

Utica, New York. Site of, 310. 

Utrecht, Holland, 227, 254, 257. De- 
scribed, 254, 255. Civil commotion 
of, 255. Cathedral, 255. Mall, 256. 
University, 256. 

Valeour Lsland, 409. 

Valencia. American consul at, 470. 

Valley of the Mohawk, 308, 309. 

Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Washing- 
ton's army at, 74. 

Van Berkel, M., 500. 

Van Buren, Martin, 524. 

Van Cortlandt, Philip, General, 335, 
336, 338, 355. 

Vandercopellen, M., 500. 

Vanderhuyden, New York. The original 
name of Troy, New York. 316. De- 
scribed, 316, 317. Tides at, 318. 

Vanderkempt, M., 500. 

Vander Werff. Works of art by, 235. 

Van Dyke. Paintings by, 149, 240, 250. 

Van Mollem, Madame, 256. 

Van Ness, Governor. La Fayette at 
the house of, 38. 

Van Eensselaer, Jeremiah, 335, 336, 
356,362. 

Van Schaick, Colonel. His regiment, 76. 

Van Stopherst, M., 500. 

Van Tromp, Admiral, 224. 

Varnum, James M., General. His Green- 
wich volunteers, 23. Marches toward 
Lexington, 23. Appointed Brigadier 
General, 384. Letter from, to the com- 
manding officer of the Hessians, 384. 
His colony, 385. His letter to his wife, 
385, 386. His religious views, 386, 
387. Death of, 387. Biographical 
notice of, 383-387. 

Vaughan, Mr., of London. Father of 
the British secret negotiator, 200. 

Vaughan, Mr. Son of Mr. Vaughan, of 
London, 200. Notice of, 162, 163. 
Emigrates to America, 162. 

Veil. Ceremony of taking the, 120, 121. 

Vergennes, Count de, 102. His note 
to Dr. Franklin, 155, 156. 

Vergennes, Vermont, 407. 

Vermont. Mr. Watson's tour to, in 
1805, 402. Farms, 407. 

Versailles, France. Described, 101. Eoyal 
Chapel at, 208. Palace at, 212. Louis 
Littlepage at, 132. 

Viewing Committee of Agriculture, 463. 



554 



Index. 



Villas, Dutch, 231. 

Vineyards, French, 111. 

Virginia. Lord Dunmore, Governor 
of, 43. Coal-miners, 43. Cock-fight, 
300, 301. Election, 71. Manners and 
customs, 71. Naked negroes, 41. 
Wilderness region of, 41. 

Volney, M. At Albany, 388. 

Voltaire, M., 209. 

Voorn, Island of, 223. 

Vorden, Netherlands. Canal, 257. 

Vulcan in his Shop, a painting by Kubens, 
235. 

Vyverlerg, The, 239. 



Wadsworth, Peleg, General. His 
school, 20. Military discipline of his 
pupils, 20. 

Wagon. Pennsylvania, described, 479. 
Mail, 361. Rendezvous, at Albany, 
479. Travelling, in Holland, 259. 

Wales, Prince of : see George IV. 

Wallace, Commodore. In the harbor 
of Providence, 27. Seizes Mr. Brown, 
and sends him, in irons, to Boston, 27. 

Walsh, Mr. His account of the Hutch- 
inson letters, 45. 

Waltham, Virginia. Canal, 43. 

Walton, General, 62. 

Wanton, Governor. His proclamation,, 
23. 

War, The, of 1812, 433, 434, 448. 

Warrenton, North Carolina. Election 

' at, 286, 287. Hunting-scene at, 288. 

Warrington, England, 185. Described, 
188. 

Warsaw, Poland. Louis Littlepage at, 
132. 

" Wanvick Greens," The. A military 
company, commanded by Captain 
Green, 23. 

Warwick Neck, 271. 

Warwickshire, 176. 

Washington, General. At Boston, takes 
command of the American army, 25. 
At Brandywine, 35. At Elkton, 277. 
At Germantown, 39. His army on 
Long Island, 274. In New Jersey; 
his retreat through it, 31. At Prince- 
ton, 36. At Trenton, 36, 87 ; Valley 
Forge, 75. Unites his forces with 
those of Count de Rochambeau, 154. 
His officers' attachment to, 74. Hon- 
ored in France, 134. John Adams's 
mention of, 435. Masonic ornaments 
sent to, by Mr. Watson and M. Cos- 
soul, 156, 157: see Letters. His 
mother's residence, 43 ; her appear- 
ance, 43. Mr. Watson's first inter- 



view with, 26. Mr. Watson's visit to, 
at Mount Vernon, 138, 278. In do- 
mestic life, 278, 279. Contrasted with 
Alexander the Great, 279. Waits on 
his sick guest, 280. Urges Mr. Wat- 
son to settle on the Potomac, 281. 
His plan of Inland Navigation, 358. 
His scheme for connecting Chesapeake 
Bay with Albemarle Sound, 285. Pres- 
ident of the Potomac Canal Company, 
280. Books sent to, by Granville 
Sharp, 267. His personal appearance, 
described by Mr. Watson, 26. Mr! 
Wright's model of the head of, 139. 
Portrait of, at the State House, Anna- 

Wpolis, 282. 
ASHINGTON, WlLLIAM AUGUSTINE, Col- 

onel. At the Battle of Guilford, 291. 
His pursuit of Tarleton, 286. 

Washington, Mrs., of Mount Vernon, 
139. 

Washington, Mrs., mother of General, 
43. 

Washington CUy, 73. 

Water. Mode of supplying London 
with, 222. Paris supplied with, by 
means of horse-carts, 222. Supply of, 
at Salem, North Carolina, 294. Want 
of fresh, at Seneca Lake, 356. 

Water ee River, 297. 

Watson, Charles M., of Port Kent, 
203. 

Watson, Elkanah. Date and place of 
his birth, 19. His ancestors, 19 ; edu- 
. cation, and tutors, 19, 20. Taught 
military evolutions, by his school- 
master, 20. Apprenticed to John 
Brown, 20. Member of a cadet com- 
pany at Providence, 22. March of his 
company toward Lexington, 23. His 
father gratuitously supplies blankets 
for the American army, 91, 92. Carries 
a supply of powder to the army at 
Cambridge, 26. His first interview 
with Washington, 26. At Mystic, 26. 
At Plymouth, arouses the Committee 
of Safety, 29. His inoculation, 30, 31. 
With General Lee, at Newport, 30. 
With Major Thomas, at Plymouth, 31. 
His story of the Magic Egg, 31. At 
Pawtucket, 32. Journey to South 
Carolina, in 1777, 34 ss. With a suffer- 
ing patriot at Danbury, 35. With 
Captain Hoogland, at Morristown, 36. 
With La Fayette, at Bethlehem, 37, 
38. Arrested as a spy, 37, 44. With 
General Mcintosh, 51. Arrival at 
Charleston, 52. With Governor Rut- 
ledge, 55. Tour in Georgia, 56. With 



Index. 



555 



Dr. Ziibly, 60; General Watson, 63; 
and Mr. Piercy, 64. Keturn to Charles- 
ton, 67. Journey homeward, 68 ss. 
At Valley Forge, 74. Arrival at Prov- 
idence, in 1778, 77. At Plymouth, 
80. With Mr. Winslow, and his son 
and daughter, 85 ss. With Mrs. Rey- 
nell, 87. Proposed journey to France, 
in 1779, 88. 

Sails for France, 94 ss. With Dr. 
Franklin, 102, 109. At the college of- 
Ancenis, 116 ss. With Tom Paine, 
127 ss. Altercation with a priest, 129. 
With Louis Littlepage, 131 ; and Mrs. 
Wright, 137. His wax figure of Dr. 
Franklin, 141 ss. Tour in the north- 
ern provinces of France, and in the 
Netherlands, 144 ss. With Silas 
Deane, 151. Sends masonic orna- 
ments to General Washington, 156. 
With Henry Laurens, 160. His ser- 
vant, La Fleur, 161. With the Amer- 
ican envoys at Paris, 162. 

Journey to England, in 1782, 163. 
With Lord Shelburne, and the Duke of 
Manchester, 167, 168; and Dr. Price, 
171. At Stratford-upon-Avon, 177. 
With Judge Oliver, Dr. Priestley, and 
James Watt, 179. With Dr. Moves, 
179, 183; and the sister of Garrick, 
184. Assailed by a band of armed 
men, 185. With Earl Ferrers, Henry 
Laurens, and Earl Effingham, 199, 
200: with Mr. Burke, 200. Portrait 
by Copley, 202 ss. With Burke, Pitt, 
Fox, Sheridan, and Conway, 206. 

Keturn to France, 208. With Mr. 
Adams, and Dr. Franklin,- 208. Tour 
in France, 208 ss. Keturn to London, 
in 1783, 213. At the Isle of Wight, 
214. With Mr. Wilclman, 219. Ke- 
verse of fortune, 220. 

Passage to Holland, 222. Tour, 222 
ss. With Mr. Adams, 233 ss. At 
Haarlem, 245. At Amsterdam, 248. 
See Table of Contents. 

Keturn to England, 265. With Gran- 
ville Sharp, 267. Keturn to America, 
268 ss. With General Greene, 273 ; 
Kufus King, Elbridge Gerry, and 
Judge Sullivan, 273; Judge Hobart, 
274; Kobert Morris, 276. Visit to 
General Washington, 278 ss. 

Jonrney to the South, in 1786, 283 
ss. With Colonel Ashe, 286. Visit 
to the Catawba Indians, 294. Keturn 
to the North, 33. Marriage, in 1784, 
304. Journey to the western part of 
Massachusetts, and to New York, 305 



ss. With John de Neuville, 307. Nar- 
row escape from death, 323. Kobbed, 
324. 

Kemoval to Albany, 326. Visits, in 
1790, New Lebanon, Saratoga, and 
Ballston Springs, 331, 334, 335. Ac- 
companies Mr. Van Kensselaer, Gen- 
eral Van Cortlandt, and Mr. Bayard, in 
atour through New York, 335 ss. Re- 
turn to Albany, 362. Correspondence 
with General Schuyler and KoberJ; 
Morris, 364. The Canal Controversy, 
370 ss. With Mrs. Varnum, 385 ; and 
celebrated French emigrants, 387. 
Correspondence with Chancellor Liv- 
ingston, 390; Colonel Humphreys, 
395 ; and Mr. Adams, 397 ss. 

Tour to Vermont, 402. Keturn to 
Albany, 413. With Dr. Nott, 413 ss. 
Political contest of 1807, 416. Re- 
moval to Pittsfield, 419. Agricultural 
affairs, 420 ss. President of the Berk- 
shire Agricultural Society, 423. Cor- 
respondence with Chancellor Living- 
ston and Colonel Humphreys, 431 ss. 
The war of 1812, 433. Correspon- 
dence with John Adams, 433 ss ; 
General Hull 441 ss; and Kobert 
Fulton, 443. Agricultural addresses, 
444 ss. Antiquarian speculations, 
448. Keport on Agriculture, 457. 
Foreign Circular, 458. Correspon- 
dence with Judge Peters, 458 ss; 
Jefferson, and Madison, 467 ss. Tour, 
in 1818, 474, Correspondence with Mr. 
Adams, 497 ss. Tour in Canada, in 
1826, 503. 

Kemoval to Port Kent, 508. Pro- 
motes public improvements, 509. At- 
tends the convention at Montpelier, 
in 1830, 513. Temperance addresses, 
515 ss. Last Agricultural Address at 
Berkshire, 521. "View of the progress 
of population in America, 522. Visited 
by Governor Seward, Mr. Clay, and 
Mr. Van Buren, in 1839, 524. Last 
illness, and death, 526. Monument 
and Epitaph, 527. 

Watson, John. Anecdote of, and Cap- 
tain Balfour, 24. 

Watt, James, 179, 180, 181, 196. 

Waxhaw Settlement, South Carolina, 296. 

Wayne, General, 488, 489. 

Wedderbuene, Mr. His abuse of Dr. 
Franklin, 45. 

Wedding. French peasant, 118, 119. 

Well. At Dover Castle, 167. At De 
Burg Castle, 243. 

West, Benjamin, 203, 206. 



556 



Index. 



Western. Canals, 837, 347, 365, 373, 375, 

377. Emigration, 299. 
Western Islands, 93. 
West India Islands, 78. 
West Point, New York, 318. 

Whately, Mr. His duel with Sir John 

Temple, 45. 
Wheat. Badges, 423. Eussian, 437. 

Siberian, 437. Spanish, 470. 
Whigs. The ancestors and relatives of 
§ Mr. Winslow were, with few excep- 
tions, Whigs, 19. Their retort upon 
the Tories, at Plymouth, 32. 

Whipple, Abraham, Captain. In the 
affair of the schooner Gaspee, 28, 29. 

White, Judge, 310, 311. 

" White Lion''' Inn, at Stratford-upon- 
Avon, 177. 

Whitefield, George, Eev. Account 
of him and his Orphan House, 64. 

Whitehall, New York. Cholera at, 520. 

White savage. At Chatham, 297, 299. 

Whitesborough, New York, 310. De- 
scribed, 311, 360, 862. 

Whitestown, New York, or Whites- 
borough. See Whitesborough. 

Whitney, Eli. Account of, and of his 
machine for cleaning cotton, 59. His 
memorial to Congress, 59. 

Wight, Isle of, 214, 215. 

Wild turkeys, in North Carolina, 46. 

Wildman, Mr. Notice of, 219, 220. His 
garden and bees, 250. 

William I., Prince of Orange, 228, 224, 
235. Assassination of, 231. Tomb 
of, 231, 232. Statue of, 232. Char- 
acter of, 232. 

William III., Prince of Orange. Por- 
trait of, 240. 

William and Mary College. At Williams- 
burg, Virginia, 43, 295. Indian educ- 
ated at, 295. 

Williams, Colonel. Marriage of, at St. 
Germain, 108. American consul, at 
Nantes, 130. 

Williams, Judge. His hospitality, 289. 
His lunatic son, 289. 

Williams, Mr. Murdered, at Dismal 
Swamp, 44. 

Williamsburg, North Carolina, 70. 

Williamsburg, Virginia. Described, 43. 
College at, 43. 

Williamson, Dr. Hugh. Obtains pos- 
session of the Hutchinson letters, 45. 
See Letters. 

Willing, Mr. Of Philadelphia, busi- 
ness partner of Robert Morris, 368. 

WiUsborough, New York, 408. 

Willsborough Mountain, 412. 



Wilmington, Delaware, 277. 
Wilmmgton,J$orih Carolina. Described, 
49. Occupied by Lord Cornwallis, 49. 
Its exports, 49. 
Windsor, England. Described, 207. 

Castle, 207. Chapel, 207. 
Windmills. At Sard am, 252. 
Winslow, Edward, Governor. One of 
the pilgrims of the May- Flower, 19. 
Maternal ancestor of Elkanah Watson, 
19. Introduces neat cattle into the 
American colonies, in 1623, 514. 
Winslow, Edward. Tory Collector of 
the port of Plymouth, 24, 84, 85. Din- 
ner-party at the house of, 24. His 
touching interview with his son, 87, 
88. 
Winslow, Edward. Son of Edward, 
84, 85. His touching interview with 
his father and sister, 87, 88. 
Winslow, John, General. Biographical 

notice of, 84. 
Winthrop, Governor. Letter from, 471. 
Winton, North Carolina, 301. 
Winyaw Bay, 51, 52. Swamps near, 

infested by runaway negroes, 51 . 
Witherspoon, Rev. Dr., 32. 
Wives. Institution for unfaithful, 212. 
Wolf-riff, at the German Flats, 338. 
Wolves. Captain Hussey's fight with, 69. 

At Detroit, 494. 
Woman. Fat, anecdote of a, 287. Per- 
jured, fate of a, 199, 200. 
Women. Influence of, 425, 430, 456, 468. 
Dutch, 223. German, at work in the 
fields of Pennsylvania, 39. Dunker, 
40. 
Wood. Fuel, in France, 111. 
Wood Creel, 313, 314, 339, 340, 347, 365. 

Described, 341. 
Wooden Shoes. French, 95. 
Wood-sawer. Story of a, 320. 
Woodstock, England, 177. 
Woodlands, Church in the, 301. 
Woods on fire, 66. 
Wool, Alderman, 206. 
Wool. Colonel Humphreys's letter on, 
395. See Sheep, Merino. Manufac- 
ture of, in England, 453. Factories, 
421. 
Woolsack. Of the Chancellor of Eng- 
land, 453. 
Woolw ich, En gl an d , 1 67 . 
Wooster, General. Death of, 35. 
Worcester, England, 196, 197. 
Worsley Mills, 189, 190. 
Wray, Mr. At the London hustings, 

217, 218. 
Wright, Mr. Of Pennsylvania, his 



Index. 



557 



opinions on inland navigation, 460, 

461. 
"Wright, Mr., Artist. His model of the 

head of Washington, 138. 
Wright, Mrs., Artist in wax, 137, 138. 

Anecdote of her and a Trench lady, 

140. Her adventure, while carrying 

home the wax head of Dr. Franklin, 

140, 141. 
Wye River, 247, 248, 259. 

Yadkin River, 294. 
Tale College, Connecticut, 35. 
Yankee trick, at the Cashie Eiver, 299, 
300. 



Yarmouth, England, 265. 

" Yorick," Sterne's, 165. 

York, Sir Joseph, 237. 

York, Pennsylvania, 37. Congress meets 

at, in 1777 ; 41. 
Yorlctown, Virginia, 155. General Scam- 

mel at the siege of, 20. 

Zealand, Holland, 222, 257. Described, 
. 260. 
Zubly, John J., Eev. Dr. Account of, 

32, 60. Member of the first Congress, 

60. 
Zubltfs Ferry, 60. 
Zuyder Zee, 255, 257. 



THE END 



Publications of Dana and Company. 



IMPRESSIONS OF ENGLAND. By the Rev. A. Cleve- 
land Coxe. 12mo., 340 pages. Price, $1. 

The Rev. A. Cleveland Coxe has done a great favor to the early 
Subscribers of the Church Journal, by collecting and publishing in a 
volume, the Impressions of England, which were so prominent and 
popular a feature of our paper during nearly the first year of its 
'existence. To those early subscribers of ours, nothing beyond the 
bare announcement of the publication need be said, to recal the vivid 
memory of those delightful letters. But, for the sake of the more 
than three thousand that have been added since, we would say, that 
the volume, as a whole, is even more attractive, than were the weekly 
instalments then so keenly enjoyed. Mr. Coxe's local knowledge of 
England, even before he landed on its shores, was extraordinary ; and 
it has enabled him to stock his pages with a richness, fulness and 
variety of allusion, which perpetually kindles new interest. Hia 
faculties of observation are more than commonly keen ; and his com- 
mand of language is equally graphic and vigorous. Singular good 
fortune seems to have attended him also. Lucky chances, such aa 
common tourists may light on one or two, seem to have been showered 
on him at every turn. Incidents that have already become historic 
are stamped, with freshest life, on every portion of the work. Again, 
as if before our eyes, Lord John Russell figures in the disgraceful and 
contemptible mad farce of the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill. Again we 
see the Iron Duke bowing in lowly worship in the Chapel Royal of 
St. James. Again we wander under the vast long-drawn, and diaphan- 
ous expanse of the Crystal Palace. Again we rove from Cathedrals 
to Churches, and Colleges, and ruined Abbeys, and sequestered ham 
lets, and breathe the pure rural air of living England, yet scented 
with the rich aroma of a glorious past. The essential unity of the 
two nations is ever uppermost in Mr. Coxe's mind ; yet never, even in 
the Royal presence, does he forget his native Republicanism. Hia 
heart beats true and strong for the freedom and purity of the Reform- 
ation, and against the slavish corruptions of Rome ; yet yearns, 
with deepest love, towards everything rightly belonging to our deal 
Mother the Church ; and his trumpet rings out clear, with no uncer- 
tain note, against all who would mar her full proportion of " the 
beauty of holiness." In short, we are with the author, as it were 
personally, from the beginning to the end of the volume : and when 
we lay it down, it is with an instinctive asking — " Shall we never 
travel with this charming companion again ?" Church Journal. 

11 



Publications of Dana and Company. 



IMPRESSIONS OF ENGLAND. By the Rev. A. Cleve- 
land Coxe. 12mo., 340 pages. Price, $1.00. 

* * * The writer is deeply versed in historic lore. * * * 
This is one great charm of the book. At all the places he visits, the 
author gathers skillfully and spins into a silken thread, the various 
events which have there in times past transpired, and thus makes a 
clue for him who travels only in imagination. 

There is something very genial in this book. He says, that the 
faults and vices of England have been sufficiently dwelt on to be well 
known, and therefore he tried to see if there might not be something 
in English society, by which we could profit. * * * Mr. Coxe's 
remarks on English Society, a topic on which he largely descants, 
strike us as singularly penetrative and correct. Free from the regular 
worship of rank which distinguishes too many travelling republicans, 
and yet capable by the culture, and refinement of his own mind of 
appreciating the phases of a peculiarly constituted society, he has 
pointed out its advantages and disadvantages with an admirable saga- 
city. Not less worthy of praise is his delicacy in mentioning the 
details of private life. No family that showed him hospitality has the 
sacred rights of its home and hearth violated by being held up to the 
rude and inquisitive gaze of the public eye. "We commend the vol- 
ume to the especial notice of all travellers who meditate the writing 
of a book, that they may see how a "gentleman" should deal with 
this delicate matter, and learn the possibility of imparting the fullest 
information, without violating the confidences of the family circle. 

The Criterion. 

* * * The volume is full of interest to the scholar and literary 
man, when memories of great men will be most pleasantly refreshed, 
and whose enthusiasm will be awakened by many a well-told incident 
in the lives of immortal men, whose genius is the inheritance of the 
whole Anglo-Saxon race. Ohio Parmer. 

This is no mere book of travel, but the experiences of a gentleman 
of keen observation, who seems to have addressed his mind, more 
particularly, during his sojourn in England, to the investigation of the 
distinguishing and characteristic merits of English civilization. His 
work is consequently one of considerable philosophical, political, and 
social interest. Boston Traveller. 

11 



Publications of Dana and Company 



IMPRESSIONS OF ENGLAND. By the Rev. A. Cleve. 
land Coxe. 12mo., 340 pages. Price, $1. 

American Churchmen will find this the most delightful account of 
a visit to our mother country and mother Church, that has ever 
appeared. It was made in an interesting and memorable year, 1851 ; 
and the reputation which had preceded the author as a poet, scholar, 
and clergyman, procured for him at once a peculiarly cordial recep- 
tion, and such an intimate access to the various phases of English 
society, as is rarely enjoyed by American travellers. Thus supplied 
with an unusual richness of material, he has produced a volume 
which will be read with universal interest and pleasure in both 
countries. Banner of the Cross. 

Though these sketches are descriptive of subjects with which we 
are all more or less familiar, yet it is both entertaining and instructive 
to trace the impressions received by a man of talent, education and 
refinement, who has avoided the common places of travel, and taken 
no delight in spying out the miseries of the land, but rather exhibited 
those phases of society, and higher points of English civilization, 
which give character and dignity to the English nation. 

Protestant Churchman. 

Books of travel and sojourn in England, have been so common, 
that we feel almost reluctant to take up a new work of this descrip- 
tion ; but we were agreeably disappointed in the volume before us. 
Mr. Coxe went abroad with many advantages. A Clergyman of the 
Church of England, with no mean reputation as a Christian poet : 
with many old correspondents of clerical and social repute " in the 
land whither he went," and to whom, of course, he was accredited ; 
and, moreover, with a determination not to be a one-sided observer, 
or a growling commentator ; with all these advantages, it is not sur- 
prising that he "enjoyed himself;" and that he does not hesitate to 
say so, on all occasions, and in the most enthusiastic terms. 

The Knickerbocker Monthly Magazine. 

These agreeable sketches, which appeared originally in the columns 
of the New York Church Journal, are now presented to the readers 
in a revised and connected form. 

They do not embrace the tedious routine of "books of travel" — 
life at hotels, travelling in stage coaches or by rail, dimensions of 
public buildings, etc., etc., — all of which have been given an hundred 
times before in every diversity of form, — but rather give us pictures 
of English society, customs, men, manners, and events, embracing, as 
the author justly claims, a connected history of Great Britain for the 
year 1851, with readable sketches of many of its most prominent 
men — Whigs and Tories. Troy Daih Whig. 

12 



Publications of Dana and Company. 



OUR CHURCH MUSIC— A Booh for Pastors and People. 
By Richard Storrs Willis. 12mo., 138 pages. 

Price. 50 cents. 

The Church has a good right to look to Mr. Richard S. Willis, as 
being, perhaps, of all our youthful native musicians, the one of whom 
she may expect the most true hearted and efficient service. His train- 
ing, however scientific, has not been that which would qualify him 
the most readily for usefulness in this field : but there is an earnest 
devotion of spirit, a reaching forth after the deep and the true, a 
growing strength and manliness, exercised and made firm by a steady 
industrj 7 , which promise the best results. He has just issued a neat 
little volume on Our Church Music, a Book for Pastors and People, 
which is the best and most thoughtful practical essay that has for a 
long time appeared among us. Church Journal. 



Were it not for the copyright on this admirable book, we should 
be compelled to transfer large portions of it to our pages. As it is, 
we hope to give, hereafter, some specimens of it, and in the mean 
time, cordially recommend it for its interest and the usefulness of its 
suggestions. Episcopal Recorder. 



Many of the articles collected in this pleasant and thoughtful 
volume have been already published in our columns ; and we are glad 
to know that they have attracted that attention among our readers 
which they deserve. The series is now completed, by the addition of 
others, not so well adapted to a journal like this, because requiring 
diagrams, etc., to illustrate them, but harmonious with those in tone 
and teaching, and equally rich in useful suggestions. Mr. Willis has 
brought the finest musical cultivation of Europe to assist him in his 
task, but has never allowed his artistic taste and knowledge to over- 
lay and smother his native good sense, or his instinctive perception 
of what is demanded in true church music. We have found his 
writings on this subject instructive and quickening ; the more so, per- 
haps, because our own half-formed thoughts have often been brought 
back to us by him, more fully and clearly expressed than they had 
been to ourselves, and clothed with the authority that belongs to one 
who is so rapidly becoming a recognised Master in his chosen depart- 
ment. Independent. 

13 



Publications of Dana and Company. 



OUR CHURCH MUSIC— A Book for Pastors and People. 
By Richard Stores Willis. l2mo., 138 pages. 

Price, 50 cents. 

Mr. Willis in this work considers church music mainly as a part of 
worship, which is its true and original design, and not as a mere en' 
tertainment interposed between the graver offices of devotion and in- 
struction. He points out the obj ections to the common modes of conduct- 
ing church music, stating them with a good deal of force and vivacity. 
# * * * j\| r> Willis thinks that to make our music what it ought 
to be, " we need to simplify the congregational style and amplify the 
choir style." He gives some practical suggestions, well worthy of 
consideration, respecting the singing of children in churches, the 
position of the choir and organ, the importance of clergymen possess- 
ing some knowledge of music as an art, and the training of the youth 
of a congregation in singing. In a second part of his treatise, Mr. 
Willis considers what subjects are proper for hymns, the adaptation 
of hymns to music, the treatment of words, the expression given to 
them in singing, and the introduction of what he calls " secular 
efforts" in church music. His views on all these subjects bear witness 
to his fine taste and careful study of the subject. Mr. Willis has 
given to both the scientific and practical part of music the study of 
years, and is entitled to speak on the subject with a tone of decision. 

New York Evening Post. 



The author is possessed of a profound scientific musical education, 
perfected in the best schools in Europe. Since his return home he 
has been engaged in editing the Musical World, a paper which has 
done more than all other publications together to diffuse and popu- 
larize a correct musical taste in this country. His journal is not con- 
fined, however, to musical criticism, but comprehends also every other 
branch of the Fine Arts, and is characterized by candid and intelligent 
exposition and elegant discussion. Mr. Willis has given much atten- 
tion to Church Music, and the just views so ably and earnestly 
enforced in the Musical World, are beginning to produce a practical 
impression that exhibits itself extensively in improvements introduced 
into that department of public worship. These he has embodied into 
a volume bearing the title " Our Church Music : a book for Pastors 
and People." It is full of interest to the pastor, the choir, and the 
congregation. New York Journal of Commerce. 

U 



Publications of Dana and Company. 



OUR CHURCH MUSIC— 'A Book for Pastors and People. 
By Richard Storrs Willis. 12mo. 138 pages. 

Price, 50 cents. 

A little work, designed — as the title-page indicates — " for Pastors 
and People," and one that may be advantageously studied by both. 
The author is most favorably known to our lettered and musical com- 
munity, as editor of that excellent periodical, " TJie Musical World;" but 
he here takes his stand upon a broader basis. He does not treat of the 
choral arrangements generally prevalent in the tone or spirit of a pro- 
fessor. He sinks the Art, of which he is a practised master, under the 
solemn claims of the dignity and hallowed purposes of Church worship, 
and plies his arguments for the benefit of congregations alone. He com- 
plains — and with reason — that in many of the American churches, 
the singing and chanting are just as much performances, in the or- 
dinary acception of the term, as though auditors and singers were 
in a concert-room ; and points out very simply and cogently how this 
evil has arisen, and how it may be modified, if not removed. Psalm- 
ody also comes in for an examination ; and we must say we have 
been greatly struck with the combined boldness, delicacy, and re- 
ligious sentiment, displayed by Mr. Willis, in handling a somewhat 
delicate theme — one in which many of the Clergy are averse to hav- 
ing outsiders meddle. In short, this duodecimo of one hundred and 
thirty pages is an exceedingly suggestive little work; its common 
sense and practical view bringing it within the comprehension of non- 
professional readers. It has greatly interested us. May it be of use 

Albion. 

A book this, full of common sense, and most happily adapted to the 
state of things in ten thousand places of worship in the United States. 
As we have turned over its pages we have exclaimed, again and again, 
"How true! How well said I Would that everybody could read it!" 
The adoption of the suggestions made in this volume would work a 
speedy revolution in our Church music, transforming it from a mere 
professional display, into simple and beautiful, because heartfelt, wor- 
ship. Let it then be widely circulated. Ohio Farmer. 

A glance over its chapter headings will reveal to all interested in 
the subject of the volume, the richness of its themes. The manner of 
their discussion seems to us judicious and sensible, and almost wholly 
in the right direction. We do not accord with some of the criticisms 
of the work, but we certainly believe that its author is in advance of 
the world in his teachings, and that the study of his treatise must 
make our church music better. Gongregationalist. 



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